YuGiOh: Shadow Kingdom
by Ayako Kadori
Summary: It's all over now, or so it seems- the gang celebrate and say goodbye to new friends. But is the threat really gone? COMPLETE! R
1. Ch1 New Faces

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio (you may have seen her entered in some other people's fics contests and stuff) and her yami Saiyuki. This story is about a bunch of different stuff. It's got adventure, angst, a lil romance, and all that good stuff. That's all for now, and enjoy!  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 1: New Faces  
  
*RIIIING!* *RRRRRIIING!* Yugi grumbled as he sat up and grabbed the phone. He yawned as he put it up to his ear.  
  
"Hello?" he asked groggily. His ears were meant with some crashing sounds, shouting, a bang. Suddenly, he heard some hard breathing, then a voice he instantly recognized.  
  
"H-hey Yug'. It's me, Joey. Sorry for callin' ya so late at night, but-" Joey's voice was cut off by a loud pounding noise. Yugi frowned as he listened. He knew what was going on; he had known for quite some time, and he didn't like it. Then Joey's voice came back.  
  
"Heh, sorry 'bout that. Anyway, I'm kinda havin' some problems here with my dad, and um, I was wondering if I could spend the rest of the night at your house. I mean, it's nothin' big or anything, but.." Yugi sighed as Joey rambled on. He didn't understand why Joey put up with this crap, but he was his best friend.  
  
"It's alright Joey. You can come over, I mean, we still have five weeks left before school starts. A sleepover would be fun!" Yugi listened to a relieved sigh on the other end, and then smiled when Joey replied.  
  
"Thanks Yug'. I own ya one! I'll be over in a jiffy!" Yugi grinned when he heard the *click* of the phone. He put the phone down and got up. He might as well, since he was wide awake now.  
  
/Yugi?\ a deep voice sounded in his head. Yugi stretched.  
  
/Yes Yami?\  
  
/Was that Joey again?\  
  
/Yes, he's coming over\ /.\ Yugi knew that Yami was worried about Joey too, but there was nothing they could do. Joey had made it clear that Yugi wasn't to tell anyone what was going on.  
  
/Yami?\ before a response could be heard, there was a soft knocking coming from downstairs.  
  
Yugi quietly tip-toed past his grandfather's room and down the stairs. He made his way to the back door and opened it. Yugi covered his mouth.  
  
"Omigosh Joey! Are you okay?" Joey stood there wearing his trademark grin, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair was messy as usual, but a large gray bruise had formed on his cheek. He also had a deep gash on his forehead.  
  
"Nah, I'm fine. I was almost outta there when my dad took a swing at me at the top of the stairs. He got me pretty good, and I sorta lost my balance. Damn Yug', I didn't think falling down those stairs could hurt so much!" Joey replied nonchalantly. He reached up and lightly touched the bruise on his face.  
  
"Why, there you are Yugi. This is great, now we don't have to break inside to get to you." A smooth voice said. They whipped around to see two figures casually leaning against a wall in the shadows. At this time, Yami, sensing magic, took over. He narrowed his eyes at the intruders and pointed an accusing finger at the one he assumed had spoken.  
  
"Who in Ra do you think you are? What do you want? Answer me now, or face being banished to the Shadow Realm!" The figure he was pointing at snickered, then walked into the light. It was a girl, who looked to be about fifteen years old. She had dark gray/blue eyes, and long red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore tan cargo pants, and a tight black tank top. Her lips curled into a smile, and she politely bowed to Yami.  
  
"My name is Tsukio Akimi. Please forgive us for intruding, Pharaoh. However, we have urgent matters to discuss with you.." Yami watched her suspiciously, considering what she had said. He would have told he wasn't interested, but the truth was, he was very curious about her and her companion. He could sense that they had strong magic.  
  
"Fine then, but who's your friend?" he gestured toward the other figure, who hadn't made so much a peep yet. Akimi grinned at him and waved her friend over. Yami's and Joey's eyes widened when the person stepped into the light."  
  
To be Continued  
  
Note- Tell me what you think so far! 


	2. Chapter

Here's the info on my contest and such: Okay people, I'm outta ideas, so here's how it's gonna go. I need another character. Please send a review of your character, or email me. Thanks a bunch! Here's the info I need: Your Character's Name Gender: Age: Personality: Physical Description: Oh, and enter the same information if your character has a Yami. Don't worry if your character isn't chosen. Your character may make a guest appearance later on anyway. ^_^ Oh ya, and this isn't a Yami/OC romance or anything like that.  
  
Here's an example of what your entry should look like: Name: Tsukio Akimi Gender: Female Age: 15 Personality: Very moody. She can be sweet, mean, annoying, cocky, calm, arrogant, etc. She likes Joey and despises Tristan. ^_^ Description: She has dark gray/blue eyes, and long red hair that's usually pulled back in a ponytail. She wears cargo pants, and tank tops. Millennium Item: Millennium Anklet  
  
Her Yami's Profile: Name: Saiyuki Gender: Female Age: ? (looks 18) Personality: She's kind of stuck up, and isn't very trusting to anyone other than Akimi. Saiyuki and Akimi aren't into Duel Monsters; they think that it's a child's game and feel that they are above playing it. Description: Looks like Akimi, except a little taller, and her eyes are bright green.  
  
-Thanks everyone! 


	3. Ch2 Heart Eyes and Threats

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, and Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD (I decided to use these characters, although Lani won't come in until the 3rd or 4th chapter). Oh ya, I'm using the dubbed names instead since they're easier to spell for me and for me to remember.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 2: Heart Eyes and Threats  
  
"Fine then, but who's your friend?" he gestured toward the other figure, who hadn't made so much as a peep yet. Akimi grinned at him and waved her friend over. Yami's and Joey's eyes widened when the person stepped into the light.  
  
The person was a young man, who appeared to be a little older than Akimi. His medium-length brown hair fell lightly around his piercing hazel eyes. His clothes were nothing special, just blue jeans and a black muscle T- shirt that showed off his toned muscles perfectly. However, Yami and Joey weren't ogling over his muscles, they were staring open-mouthed at his right hand, which appeared to be made out of gold. He grinned and held out his hand to them.  
  
"Pleasure to meet ya both. I'm Hunter Anubis." Yami frowned and remained silent. Joey however, put on his goofy grin and shook Hunter's hand.  
  
"Erm, nice ta meet ya Hunter." Akimi watched the two exchange greetings, when she noticed that Yami was glaring dangerously at her. She smirked at the former pharaoh.  
  
"Wow Yami, you act like we're going to stab ya in the back the minute you turn it to us. Don't trust us? That's fine with me, although for your sake, and the sake of your friends, you should listen to what we have to say."  
  
Late Afternoon the next day..  
  
Tea, Tristan, and Ryou lounged around Yugi's card shop, waiting for him and Joey to appear after they had called them all there on an "emergency". Tea sighed boredly while Tristan looked at the lasted cards to arrive at the shop. Ryou, meanwhile, stood leaning against a shelf, seemingly staring into space. They were all startled when Joey suddenly appeared behind the cash register with Yugi. Tea immediately jumped up and stormed up to them.  
  
"What's this all about you guys? I mean, you call me in the middle of my dance class saying its an emergency, then leave me sitting here thinking that something horrible had happened and- Joey, what happened to your face?!" Joey smiled sheepishly and looked down at the floor. He was saved by Yugi though.  
  
"Erm, sorry Tea, and you too guys. Um, it is kinda an emergency. Er, Joey tripped down some stairs, but he's fine. Um, come on to the living room, there's some people I'd like you to meet." With that they all headed to Yugi's spacious living room. Tristan narrowed his eyes as Joey veered off course, heading towards the kitchen. He grabbed Joey by the ear.  
  
"And where do you think you're going?" Joey yelped and wriggled out of his grasp.  
  
"Back off Tristan! I was up all night and haven't had a bite to eat. Leggo' of me!" Yugi chuckled as the two started playfully wrestling.  
  
"Alright guys, we'll have something to eat after the introductions. Come on." Tea's curiosity was growing by the second. What was the big secret? What was going on? They quickly walked into the living room to see two people sitting on the couch, talking quietly.  
  
Tea hardly gave the girl a second chance, but focused on the handsome boy. Her heart skipped a beat as his eyes met hers (a/n this won't be a Hunter/Tea romance, though that's gonna break Tea's heart Lol). The boy stood up and held his left hand out to Tristan.  
  
"Hey, I'm Hunter-" he was interrupted as Tea suddenly appeared in front of him, her face slightly red.  
  
"H-hello, I'm Tea, Tea Gardner. I-I'm so happy to meet you and I hope that we can become good friends." Hunter sweat dropped as Joey grabbed Tea and pulled her out of the way.  
  
"Come on lover-girl, give da guy some space! Hunter, Akimi, this is Tea, that's Ryou, and that's my pal Tristan. Guys, this is Hunter and this is the beautiful Akimi." Akimi rolled her eyes, and Hunter eyed Ryou.  
  
"Oh yes, Ryou, the holder of the Millennium Ring. Pleased to meet your acquaintance I'm sure." Ryou gasped.  
  
"How could you know about my Millennium Ring? Who are you?" Ryou suddenly went quiet, trace emotions flashed across his face, then he sighed and nodded. Akimi and Hunter didn't seem put off by his strange behavior though. In an instant, Ryou's kind expression changed into a scornful one, and his features became sharper, his hair spikier. Bakura eyed Hunter and Akimi up and down.  
  
"So you know of the Millennium items. Then you should know who I am-Bakura, spirit of the Millennium Ring. Now," Bakura smirked and raised a hand towards them, "you're going to tell me who you are, and hand over the Millennium items I sense you possess, or I'll send you both to the Shadow Realm."  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Ok so I kind of focused on Hunter a lot in this chapter. I couldn't help it, he's just so cool! I'm introducing Saiyuki and Sol in the next chapter, and I'll give a little information on the "new threat" that they're all up against. Don't worry, their characters are going to be getting more developed in the next few chapter, and the story line's gonna get better too. 


	4. Ch3 Meet the Yamis!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, and Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 3: Meet the Yamis!  
  
"So you know of the Millennium items. Then you should know who I am-Bakura, spirit of the Millennium Ring. Now," Bakura smirked and raised a hand towards them, "you're going to tell me who you are, and hand over the Millennium items I sense you possess, or I'll send you both to the Shadow Realm."  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes as Akimi started snickering. He pointed his hand at her.  
  
"What's so hilarious?! I see that you don't take my threats seriously, but I've sent many a fool to the Shadow Realm. Don't think I won't do it again!" Akimi looked at his hand and bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh. Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.  
  
"W-well B-bakura *snort* I'm afraid I can't *giggle* do that, but," Akimi took a deep breath, trying to calm down, "I can introduce you to Saiyuki! Hey Hunter, let Sol take over for awhile, I'm sure he'd love to meet the thief!" Yami gasped.  
  
"You have yamis?" Hunter nodded.  
  
"Sure do. Although Sol's been kinda cranky lately, so you better watch how you talk to him, Thief." Tea's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the transformation. Hunter's short light hair now hung around his shoulders. He was still quiet muscular, and his eyes remained hazel, but he now looked at least three years older.  
  
Tristan and Joey were gaping at Akimi, who had also changed. She looked slightly older and curvy. Her appearance otherwise was nearly the same, save for the fact that her eyes now shown a brilliant bright green. "Akimi" cocked her head to the side as she studied the scene.  
  
"Hello, the name's Saiyuki. Greetings Yami, long time no see! Oh, and this is Sol," she said gesturing toward Sol. Sol was completely unreadable. Though his face held no emotions, his eyes burned with a sort of determination. He nodded his head in greeting to the stunned group of teens. Bakura snarled and summoned up his energy, aiming it right at Akimi.  
  
"I don't care who you are woman! All I want is your item, say goodbye!" With that, Bakura sent a wave of shadow magic at Saiyuki, who had an eyebrow raised. Sol suddenly appeared in front of her, his right golden hand held up at the oncoming shadow magic. Bakura gasped in surprise as his magic was instantly repelled and destroyed. He clenched his fists and glared at Sol.  
  
"Alright, who the hell are you people, and how can you resist my magic? It's impossible!" Saiyuki moved out from behind Sol, who looked pretty ticked off and was glaring angrily at Bakura. She smiled lightly.  
  
"Well ya see Thief, Sol's Millennium Hand here is immune to shadow magic. It won't affect him. Ya better watch out or he'll rip the evil outta ya. Oh wait, you are evil! So it would just be Ryou." Yami had been surprisingly quiet during this, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"How can it not be affected by shadow magic? Who are you two exactly, and what's this new threat that's coming? Are you from my past?" Sol completely ignored him, instead turning to Bakura, whose face was now red with anger.  
  
"Thief, this is your first and final warning. Try anything like that again, and I will kill you. Understand?"  
  
"Fine, you aren't affected by my shadow magic, but I will get both of your items, then I'll destroy you two!" With that, he reverted back to his Millennium Ring, leaving a slightly bewildered Ryou standing in his place. Ryou looked to Tea.  
  
"What was that all about? I haven't seen him this mad since..um..Tea?" Tea was staring at Sol with adoring eyes. She suddenly bounded up to him and Saiyuki.  
  
"I'm so glad to meet you two. My name's Tea in case you didn't know, and I'd love to be friends with you guys.Youseeallofusherearegreatfriendsandwe'rereallcloseandwe'dloveto beyourfriends!" Tea's face was bright red, and her left eye was twitching. Sol coughed nervously and casually stepped behind Saiyuki, who sighed and shook her head. Saiyuki turned to Yami, who had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot impatiently.  
  
"Ok, now that that's dealt with, let's get down to business. Hmmm..now where should I begin? Well, have you ever heard of Shadow Kingdom?"  
  
To be Continued  
  
Note- Here's another chapter from Yours Truly! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm going to use all the characters I've gotten up before this chapter, so keep reading! Though I guess I have to say that I don't need anymore right now(though I probably will in the future). Next chapter: the new threat (or a little info anyway!) is revealed! Also, there's going to be some angst and some other stuff mixed in when some people's personal lives are discussed. So, there you have it. R&R, and remember, flames are accepted as long as they're helpful and intelligent. ^_^' 


	5. Ch 4 Phone Call and Eavesdroppers

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness. Whoo, this chapter's longer then the others, but oh well! Enjoy! ^_^ Oh, and some new characters will come in, and the story is gonna pick up (finally!)  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 4: Phone Call and Eavesdroppers  
  
"Ok, now that that's dealt with, let's get down to business. Hmmm..now where should I begin? Well, have you ever heard of Shadow Kingdom?" Saiyuki sighed at the blank expressions that she received. She tapped her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning. Shadow Kingdom is a very secretive event that takes place every year. No Yami, it has nothing to do with Duel Monsters. It's, how should I explain this- a series of games. Shadow games." Before she could continue however, the phone rang. Saiyuki tried to continue, but the phone continued to ring persistently. Yami sighed, allowing Yugi to take over, who then went and cheerfully answered the phone.  
  
"Hello, Game Shop! This is Yugi speaking, how may I help you?" Yugi's happy expression suddenly disintegrated, and he let out a small squeak. Everyone looked at him curiously as he put his hand over the receiver and looked over at them. He coughed and beckoned for Joey to come over.  
  
"Uh Joey, it's you dad." Joey paled as he quickly snatched the phone from Yugi.  
  
"Erm, hi Dad. Sorry I didn't tell you where I was going last night." Joey cringed and held the phone away from his ear. Everyone could hear Joey's dad yelling various profanities, even though they were all on the other side of the room. Joey waited a moment, then put the phone back up to his ear.  
  
"Hey Dad, I kind of have to go..Eep! No that's okay, it's not that important. Yes, I'll get home right now. See ya in a few minutes, bye." He hung up, sweating and looking very nervous. He turned towards the others, and still managed to plaster his trademark grin on his face. He scratched his head and shifted from foot to foot.  
  
"Heh, sorry guys, I gotta leave. My dad's pretty upset, and he'll come down here himself if I don't get my ass home!" Tristan and Tea narrowed their eyes and got up and headed towards Joey, who was looking at them wide-eyed.  
  
"Hey guys, what're ya doin'? Guys?" He tried to run, but the duo had him backed into a corner.  
  
"Alright Joey, what's going on? Come on! We're your friends, and friends tell each other everything, and." (a/n why does Tea have an obsession about friendship anyway?)  
  
"Joey, Tea's right, we deserve to know. I can tell you're hiding something!" Tristan cut in. They were about to pester Joey more, when Saiyuki came up behind them and grabbed the nosy friends by the back of their shirts, and pulled them away. She nearly hauled them off the floor and dumped them on the sofa.  
  
"Hey, what was that for?!" An enraged Tristan snapped. Saiyuki snorted at him.  
  
"Whatever it is that Joey's not telling you about, it's obviously none of your business. If he wanted you to know he would have told you." Sol turned to Joey.  
  
"Sorry, but this concerns you as well. I don't know what's going on between you and your father, and frankly I don't care, but you have to stay. Understood?" Joey opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it under Sol's stern glare. Pouting, Joey trudged to the couch and sat down with a 'plop!', muttering something about 'my dad's gonna kill me'. Sol nodded his head approvingly.  
  
"That's better."  
  
Meanwhile, outside the shop, two figures stood watching the whole scene. They both appeared to be female. The first had long brown hair pulled out of her face in a ponytail, vibrant blue eyes, and she wore all black clothing, with black leather gloves and boots. Although short, she appeared to be about fifteen years old. She held a strange item in her right hand-it appeared to be some type of instrument.  
  
The other girl looked nothing like her counterpart. She had tan skin, with long, glossy black hair reaching down mid-back, with chin length bangs framing her left eye. Her face was shrouded in shadows, but you could still make out her gray eyes- which seemed to be burning with malice. She wore a black shirt with long see-through sleeves, with black pants. She also wore a black choker. She smirked at the scene before her, and the other girl turned to her.  
  
"Rio, should we warn them?" she asked in a soft voice. Rio glared at the girl menacingly.  
  
"Shut up Lani. Although, I suppose we should. Oh well, they're supposed to be smart, they can figure it out. If not, then too bad for them. Let's leave these fools. There's nothing more to see." Lani rolled her eyes and glanced one more time through the window-her eyes were locked two certain boys. She sighed irritably, pulling her leather coat more snuggly around herself. Then she turned after Rio, who was already halfway down the block, and followed.  
  
Back in the shop, everyone had stopped arguing, and were once again focusing on Saiyuki. She was glad to have their attention again, and started where she left off.  
  
"Okay, now as I was saying-" Saiyuki almost pulled her hair out in frustration when she was once again interrupted-this time by a loud 'bang'. Sol was caught by surprise as a person barreled into him, sending them both head-over-heals onto the ground..  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Who are Rio and Lani? Whose side are they on? Who's about to get their ass kicked by Sol for smashing into him like that? Will Saiyuki ever get around to revealing this new 'threat'? Probably. Anyway, I said there'd be angst, but.I had a change in plans. Oh well. ^_^' *cough* ANYWAY, a new chapter will be up tomorrow, seeing as how I have the day off from school. So, stay tuned! 


	6. Ch 5 The Yami Surprise and the Invitatio...

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 5: The Yami Surprise and the Invitation  
  
"Okay, now as I was saying-" Saiyuki almost pulled her hair out in frustration when she was once again interrupted-this time by a loud 'bang'. Sol was caught by surprise as a person barreled into him, sending them both head-over-heals onto the ground.  
  
Sol immediately scrambled to his feet and faced his attacker, who had also gotten up rather quickly. The intruder was in a pretty funky getup (a/n- lol, I wanted to be creative- everyone's always writing about "mysterious" or "strange" guys). The guy was about 5'7, and was wearing puffy black pants and a long-sleeved gray shirt. He had a black shawl-thing (a/n- how else am I supposed to describe it? O.o; ) draped over his shoulders, along with a black cape that swept from his shoulders to the floor. His feet were covered with big brown cowboy boots. (a/n- told you his outfit was funky!) The guy also had a hood up that covered his face.  
  
He grinned sadistically and reached into his pocket, pulling out some sort of silver object. As he started chanting something, Sol held out his Millennium Hand, readying himself for an attack. Yami pushed past Sol, the Millennium eye shining on his forehead.  
  
"Who in Ra do you think you are? What are you doing here, and what do you want?" Yami demanded angrily. He didn't particularly like freaky strangers bursting into his home with equally freaky objects. However, the guy ignored him, and continued with his chanting. This angered Yami even more. Sol was talking quietly with Saiyuki behind Yami, both of them looking puzzled.  
  
"That's it! You asked for it!" With that, Yami charged forward, but suddenly stopped in his tracks. The silver object the man was holding was now glowing and getting brighter by the second. Everyone's eyes were on it; it was as if they were in a trance. Suddenly, the object exploded in a burst of light, temporarily blinding everyone.  
  
"Ack! My eyes!" Joey cried out, shielding them with his arm. Tea yelped and latched onto Sol's arm. Tristan and Ryou weren't fairing any better. When the light died down, the intruder and the object were gone. Tristan opened his eyes and rubbed them. His eyes widened at the sight before him.  
  
"Holy shit!" Joey and Tea did a double take at what they saw. Somehow, that object had separated the yamis from their hikaris! Ryou was currently staring in shock at Bakura, who was sitting on the floor looking quiet amazed and happy. Yami was examing himself, curiosity in his eyes; Yugi was still seeing stars, and hadn't quite noticed what had happened.  
  
"Whoa, look Hunter! Is this cool or what?!" Akimi (a/n- did I mention that her name means Autumn Beauty? I thought was cool, since my fav. season is Autumn! ^_^) was grinning at Saiyuki, who was wearing a look of surprise on her face. Hunter was smiling at Sol, who didn't look too happy.  
  
"Hey Sol, who do think that guy was? I wonder how he did this, or why." Everyone nodded in agreement. Sol clenched his fists.  
  
"I know why that baka did it- to make us week! Before if you hikaris were in danger, we could simply take over and handle it. Now we can't. Whoever he was, he's made you very vulnerable."  
  
"Sol's right. Yugi, you aren't to leave my sight, got it?" Yami announced to Yugi. Yugi raised an eyebrow at Yami.  
  
"Yami! I'm not a little kid! I can take care of myself you know. Besides, I've got all my friends here to help me if I need it." Yami sighed and nodded. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Yugi. Sol was about to say something to Hunter, when he got the strange feeling that he was being watched. He jumped in surprise when he turned to find Tea less then a foot away from him and Hunter, her eyes bright and fixated on them. Hunter didn't seem to notice, he was busy chatting with Akimi.  
  
Yami noticed a certain white-haired thief edging his way to the exit. Yami gritted his teeth.  
  
"And WHERE in Ra do you think you're going, Tomb Robber?!" he said in an accusing voice. Bakura smirked at the former Pharaoh.  
  
"That's none of your business you baka. Now that I'm finally separated from that baka hikari of mine, I'm free now!" Yami shook his head.  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble Bakura, but you aren't going anywhere. You're still connected to Ryou. Anything that happens to him will still happen to you. *sigh* You really are a fruitcake sometimes." Bakura raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What did you call me?"  
  
"What, now you need a hearing aid? I called you a fruitcake, Fruitcake!"  
  
"Who are you calling a fruitcake you Snert!" Yami scratched his head quizzically.  
  
"Snert?"  
  
"Hmph, you're the all powerful "King of Games" and you don't even know what a Snert is? Ha, you really are a Snert!"  
  
"Don't call me that Fruitcake!"  
  
"Snert!" (a/n- I'll explain what a Snert is at the end of the chapter! ^___^)  
  
Yami was about to retort again when Joey interrupted.  
  
" *cough* Um, guys? Sorry to interrupt your little exchange, but I think we have more important things to worry about." Joey was pointing behind Bakura. Bakura turned around and nearly fell over in surprise to find himself looking at a tall, dark figure. The figure pushed past Bakura and walked into the living room. Joey could hardly control his anger.  
  
"Kaiba? What the hell are you doing here?" Kaiba was eying the room, with a mixture of confusion and annoyance in his cold blue eyes. He snorted in response.  
  
"I don't believe that's any of your concern Mutt. Now stay out of my way. Yugi, is this some kind of sick joke? Because if it is I'm warning you-" Kaiba wasn't referring to the yamis; he was holding a piece of paper in his hand. He strolled up to Yugi and shoved it in his hands.  
  
"Here, read this." Yugi just nodded dumbly and began reading. The letter was written very neatly-like calligraphy. It read:  
  
Seto Kaiba,  
Congratulations! You have been one of the few chosen to participate in Shadow Kingdom! It's a series of fun, complicated games. Your prize? Your brother of course! Little Mokuba is here in safe hands. You win, you get him back. Call the number at the bottom of this letter to RSVP! Hope to see you there!  
  
Yugi looked up at Kaiba was seriousness in his eyes.  
  
"Mokuba's been kidnapped?" Kaiba nodded solemnly.  
  
Mokuba tried to yell. His mouth was gagged, and he had a blindfold on, not to mention he was tied up pretty tightly. He attempted to wriggle out of the ropes, but that seemed to make them even tighter. Mokuba suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's no use to struggle, Mokuba. You won't escape." With that, the man turned and left the room, closing and locking the door. He was rather tall, standing at 6'1. He had short black hair and even blacker eyes. He wore a nice dark blue suit.  
  
The man headed down a few corridors, then entered another room. This room was large, but plain. The walls were all plain white, with nothing decorating them. A big, round and black table was took up most of the space, with cushioned chairs littered around it. Three other people were sitting at the table, talking quietly. They stopped when he took a seat, and they all looked at him.  
  
"Kider, what's going on? We've been informed that Hunter and Akimi have gotten involved. This doesn't please us." Kider smiled lightly, and waved them off.  
  
"Don't worry about it. They're not the threat. Saiyuki and Sol are-well, Sol is the real threat. He will be dealt with shortly. I have Nirouki on this. Now that Sol's separated from Hunter, we can just kill the kid and be gone with both of them. Now, give me the status on the games."  
  
Nirouki was a very skilled assassin. In fact, he had never failed a mission before. Killing off the boy would be a simple task compared to the others he'd been assigned. He looked like a normal person, wearing simple blue genes and a sweater. Nirouki looked up at the shop he had come to: Yugi's shop.  
  
Note- I think I'll stop there. Erm, sorry for the lack of updates! I updated earlier this week, but for some reason it didn't work. I didn't like that chapter anyway, so I wrote this one instead! ^____^ Whew, I've been busy with tests, projects, volunteering, etc. Now I'm not!  
  
Oh, and I got Snert from my dad. He always calls me it. Do you read the comics? Snert is Hagar's (the Viking) dog. Lol. Anyway, I'll update tomorrow or on Sunday. Have a good weekend! 


	7. Ch 6 New Arrivals and Idle Chit Chat

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness. I added a few little face expression thingies in this chapter, because, well, because I wanted to that's why. ^_^ Let's see here, I'm gonna try to stuff a bunch of stuff into this chapter, so it's just a wee bit longer than my other ones. Enjoy!  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 6: New Arrivals and Idle Chit Chat  
  
Nirouki was a very skilled assassin. In fact, he had never failed a mission before. Killing off the boy would be a simple task compared to the others he'd been assigned. He looked like a normal person, wearing simple blue genes and a sweater. Nirouki looked up at the shop he had come to: Yugi's shop.  
  
Akimi snapped her fingers.  
  
"I've got it! I know what that thing was that he used to separate us! It was a Silver Item!" Bakura rolled his eyes.  
  
"We kind of got that you moron." Akimi walked up to Bakura and smacked him right upside the head.  
  
"Who're you calling moron, you fruitcake?" Akimi grinned as Bakura's eye twitched at being called that. She turned to Yami.  
  
"ANYWAY, as I was saying, you know that there's a set of Millennium Items, right? Right. There's also a set of other items, known as the Silver Items. Obviously, they're silver. However, they're also twice as strong as the Millennium Items. Heh, I thought that they had been destroyed long ago, but I guess I was wrong." ^__^ She smiled cheerfully as Yugi bit his lower lip worriedly.  
  
"Well, that's bad news then Akimi. If whoever that guy was who did this has one item, he may have the others. Is there any way to find the other items?" Akimi pondered this a moment, then turned quizzically to Hunter.  
  
"Well Hunter? Is there? Answer the boy!" Hunter sweat dropped as everyone in the room turned to him.  
  
"What? How in the world would I know? I hardly know a thing about them!" O.o;  
  
Bakura sighed irritably and headed toward the phone.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere, and you fools obviously aren't going to be of any help." Yami glared at him.  
  
"Who're you calling, Thief? Do you even KNOW how to use a telephone?" Bakura snorted.  
  
"Of course I do you baka! I don't have to have my hikari explain everything to me as if I'm a complete imbecile, unlike SOMEONE I know. *cough*Yami*cough* And if you MUST know, I'm calling Malik. Not that it's any of YOUR business."  
  
"Malik?" everyone asked. O.o' Bakura shrugged, dialed a number, and waited a moment. Finally, he spoke.  
  
"Yes, hello Malik. This is Bakura. Listen, we're having a bit of a problem here at Yugi's place, and we could use your help. WHAT? You too? Yeah, he stopped by here awhile ago. Hmmmm, very interesting. Well, get your asses down here! Good, that's what I thought. Bye." Bakura turned around to find everyone staring at him strangely.  
  
"What?! Do I have something on my face?" he growled menacingly. Tea coughed nervously and stepped forward.  
  
"Um, what was that all about?" Bakura crossed his arms.  
  
"None of your business Wench!" Tea gulped and jumped behind Hunter, who was looking pretty ticked.  
  
"Listen Bakura, we don't have time for this, now, unless you want to be destroyed in a completely painful and horrible manner, you better start talking." Hunter said in a strangely calm voice. Bakura "harrumphed" and leaned comfortably against the wall.  
  
"Feh, fine. Malik and Marik are separated as well, and are going to be paying us a visit shortly." Everyone gasped.  
  
"WHAT?!!!" Yami angrily marched up to Bakura, and was about to attempt to strangle him, when there was a long 'creeeeeek' sound. Everyone turned to the door, to find a pretty girl with long blonde hair staring at them strangely. She winked at them and took off her jacket.  
  
"Hey guys, what's up? I can't believe you're having a party without me! What is up with that?" Tea squealed with delight.  
  
"MAI!!! MAIMAIMAIMAIMAI! I can't believe it's really you!" The two girls screamed and hugged each other, the guys (lol, and Akimi+Saiyuki) watched them in confusion. Mai smiled.  
  
"I just got here this morning. I though I'd pay my old friends a visit, what's going on?" Everyone sat around boredly as Yugi relayed the day's events to Mai, who listened to everything he said with interest.  
  
"Wow, that's weird. I got an invitation to Shadow Kingdom games as well. It's why I'm here." Mai opened up her purse, which was large and red. She searched through it for a few minutes, then grunted in annoyance and turned the whole thing upside down, spilling a mountain of things all over the floor. Mai pushed the items around as the group watched her in a mixture of horror and fascination. She finally found a small white card, and tossed to Yugi. As he read it aloud, she shoveled all her junk back in her purse.  
  
"Dear Mai,  
Congratulations! You have been one of the few people invited to participate in Shadow Kingdom! I know that Duel Monsters is your thing, but I'm going to make it worth your while. If you win, you'll receive a blank check especially from us (we're incredibly rich by the way), and you can fill in any amount you wish. Hope to see you there!" Yugi stared at the card in disbelief. The room was full of silence. Mai beamed as she whipped the card out of Yugi's hands.  
  
"Isn't it great? If they're dead serious, and I win, I'll be rich rich rich!" ^________^  
  
Joey shook his head. "I don't think that ya should go Mai. I mean, Kaiba got invited too, but they kidnapped his brother." Mai gasped.  
  
"Really? Well, that's too bad, since he'll never beat me. Don't worry Kaiba, I'm sure you'll get him back anyhow!" ^-^ Kaiba growled and mumbled something incoherent.  
  
"We'll see Valentine. We'll see." Mai shrugged at the CEO and bounded up to Joey and Hunter.  
  
"So Joey, you gonna introduce me to this cutie?" Hunter gulped and took a step back, and at the same time Tea's face turned red. She marched up to Mai in a huff.  
  
"Mai, this is Hunter. Hunter, this is Mai. Come on Hunter, let's go over here and talk to Yugi." Mai and Joey watched as Tea grabbed Hunter by the arm and dragged him away. Mai rolled her eyes and flipped her hair.  
  
"Geeze, what crawled up her butt and died? Anyway, so how're you doing Joey?" Joey shrugged.  
  
"Okay, but I don't think we should be chit chattin'. Ya know that Malik and Marik are headin' over?" Mai exhaled sharply.  
  
"Really? That's nice. I-" She was cut off by a large crash. Tristan was lying on the floor by a smashed lamp; he had a rather large red bump on his head. He sat up and rubbed it, glaring at Saiyuki, who was obviously pissed off.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" Saiyuki snorted; Akimi stood to the side, also looking ticked off.  
  
"You got what you deserved." Saiyuki replied. Tristan howled as Akimi kicked him in the shin.  
  
"Try touching my ass again you perv and you're going on a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm! I don't care whether you're the Pharaoh's friend or not!" Bakura stood a few feet away snickering. Joey and Yugi shook their heads, and Tea was looking at Tristan with a disgusted look on her face. Mai decided that even though she wanted to hang out with Joey a little longer, she really didn't want to see Marik again.  
  
"Sorry guys, but I'm outta here. It was nice seeing you though." Before anyone could reply, Mai was on her way out of the living room. A few moments later, a shriek erupted from the store front. Yami raced there first, quickly followed by the others. He found a strange sight in front of him. Mai was hiding behind the counter with her hands over her head, and two teen boys stood with smirks on their faces in the doorway. Yami snorted.  
  
"Malik and Marik."  
  
Nirouki sighed as he watched this from the top of the stairs. As of yet, nobody had seen nor sensed him. He had been keeping a close eye on his target, waiting for the perfect opportunity when he was alone. However, that annoying brown-haired girl had been trailing the boy like a lost puppy. Nirouki had to force himself not to yell out as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged down the hall and into a bedroom. He found himself looking into the burning eyes of Rio and Lani. Rio smirked as she grabbed him by the throat and lifted him against the wall.  
  
"Hello Nirouki." He gasped for breath as her grip tightened.  
  
"Wh-who are you? How do you k-know who I-I am?" he choked out. Lani shrugged.  
  
"That's none of your business. All you need to know is that you work for us now." Nirouki opened his mouth to protest, when an incredibly soft, quiet, medley filled his ears. Lani had a silver flute up to her lips. The notes she played seem to have some strange effect on the assassin, whose eyes now appeared lifeless and empty. It was as if he was in a deep trance. Rio allowed herself to let go of Nirouki, who dropped to his feet. She nodded at Lani approvingly and turned to Nirouki.  
  
"Get up." Without a word, he stood up and faced her, unblinking.  
  
"Now, we have a job for you."  
  
Note- Hehe, looks like Hunter's not getting' assassinated-yet. *grins evilly* Hm, I just noticed that Ryou and Kaiba didn't say anything in this chapter. Um, Ryou's just really quiet, and Kaiba's been deep in thought! *Cough* @_@ Anyway, I'll update again on Wednesday ( I have violin lessons tomorrow and a project after school with my friends on Tuesday). Hey, I know some authors on the sight that only update like, once a month. O.o Maybe I'll only update once a week, instead of a few times a week. What do ya guys say? ^_____^ 


	8. Ch 7 The Mystery Deepens!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness. Okay, I'm going to start off where I left off with Yugi and Co. So, you'll learn more about what Rio and Lani are up to later. Enjoy! ^___^  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 7: The Mystery Deepens!  
  
"Sorry guys, but I'm outta here. It was nice seeing you though." Before anyone could reply, Mai was on her way out of the living room. A few moments later, a shriek erupted from the store front. Yami raced there first, quickly followed by the others. He found a strange sight in front of him. Mai was hiding behind the counter with her hands over her head, and two teen boys stood with smirks on their faces in the doorway. Yami snorted.  
  
"Malik and Marik."  
  
Malik lightly pushed some of his bangs out of his face as he and Marik made themselves at home, helping themselves to whatever they wanted in the kitchen. Yami was positively seething.  
  
"Malik! Marik! This is enough! This is not your home and you're not welcome here!" Marik gazed at Yami boredly while shoving a big chocolate chip cookie in his mouth. He swallowed and shrugged.  
  
"Well Mister Big-Shot, I do believe that we WERE invited." Yami rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yes, by Bakura! Not by me. Now I want you two out of-" Malik stepped in front of his Yami, grinning at the former Pharaoh.  
  
"But Yami! Don't you want to know HOW we got separated? The thief over there informed me over the phone that you guys had a run-in with the same cheerful fellow that we did." Bakura sighed irritably.  
  
"You two quit messing with him and just get on with it!" Malik and Marik stared at Bakura with amused expressions on their faces. Malik shrugged and crossed his arms, facing Yami.  
  
"Alright fine. Anyway, I was in my room writing out some of my, um, GOALS, (a/n- can you guess what they were? O_o ) when this freak dives through my window and-"  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
Malik was lying on his stomach on his bed, various violent drawings lying about his room. His "counselor" had told him that it'd be helpful if he wrote out what his major goals in life are. So, he was putting together a list. Surprisingly enough to him, it actually made him feel better. He finally put his pencil down and read over his list, which read as follows:  
  
Malik's Major Goals for Life Kill the Pharaoh (torture him first) Kill the Pharaoh's friends (torture the brown-haired girl and shark-haired boy before killing them) Collect all the Millennium Items Kill Kaiba Kill the bitch who calls herself a "counselor" Rule the world Get a Shelby Cobra (a/n-they are so sweet! I want a silver one ^_^) Get a cat  
  
Malik grinned, satisfied with himself. He yawned and tossed the paper on the floor. His eyes wandered around the room and rested on a golden object that was lying beside his dresser. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and a smile crept onto his face. He started to stand up, when a strangely dressed man suddenly burst though his window, sending shattered glass around the room. Malik frowned and stood up.  
  
"Who in hell are you? How the fuck did you get up here? My room is three stories up you moron!" O.o; Malik raised an eyebrow when the man took out some sort of strange silver item and held it up-chanting in a weird language Malik had never heard before. Malik growled in irritation and reached for his rod.  
  
"That's it. You're going to the Shadow Realm." Before his hands came in contact with the rod, the room suddenly exploded in a burst of light.  
  
*END OF FLASHBACK*  
  
"The next thing I knew, I was face to face with Marik here, and that freak was gone." Malik took a bite out of the apple he had been munching on. That's when he and Marik noticed Sol, Hunter, Saiyuki, and Akimi. Marik grinned and walked up to Sol and Saiyuki.  
  
"So, you two are spirits-ahem, WERE spirits as well? Hmmm, may I ask what items you possess?" Sol's face remained emotionless, and he took a deep breath, looking like he wanted to strangle the evil "spirit" in front of him. Saiyuki glared at him.  
  
"Don't try anything stupid Marik, we know all about you, and you know NOTHING about us. That goes for you too, Malik. I'm Saiyuki, Akimi's yami. This is Sol, Hunter's yami. Trust me; our powers far exceed your own, so don't attempt anything foolish." Marik frowned while Malik rolled his eyes.  
  
"Awww, how sweet, the idiots are making friends. Sorry Yugi, but I'm outta here. I have to save my brother, not waste time hanging around morons." Kaiba's mocking voice sounded. Yugi's eyes widened as Kaiba made a beeline for the door.  
  
"No-no Kaiba! You can't go face them by yourself! It could be dangerous! We don't even have any idea of what we're up against!" Hunter nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah Kaiba. Besides, I DO know. Don't you want to get some information before you rush head-long into something you don't understand?" Kaiba growled and stomped over to Hunter, their faces just inches away from each other.  
  
"Well? Out with it already!" he snarled. Hunter stared back unflinching.  
  
"Fine. You see, Akimi and I have been keeping an eye on THEM." Tea gulped.  
  
"Who's THEM?"  
  
"THEY are the ones who organized Shadow Kingdom. Four men-Kider, Taeo, Dentei, and Ruby. Kider is the head man-he's the one that makes all the major decisions. Two years ago, they came after Akimi, trying to obtain her Millennium Anklet. It just so happened that they also found out about me, and did the same. It's a long story, but we ended up getting away-but not before destroying many of their most important files."  
  
Hunter took a deep breath, and Akimi started talking.  
  
"However, they're not only after the Millennium Items. Their real goal is something else. Something big. After we found out about Shadow Kingdom, we hacked into their computers and discovered a list of names of the people invited. Among them we found these." Akimi handed Yugi a piece of paper, which he read aloud:  
  
"Yugi Motou Seto Kaiba Mokuba Kaiba Joey Wheeler Serenity Wheeler Ryou Bakura Malik Ishtar Mai Valentine Tea Gardner Tristan Taylor"  
  
At that same time, Kider was having another meeting with his partners, who didn't look very pleased.  
  
"Kider, I THOUGHT you said you were going to have the threat eliminated. What happened to Nirouki?" Said the one called Ruby. He was the vice- president, and very laid-back. His cloudy gray eyes were hidden behind a mop of shaggy chocolate brown hair. He was about 5'6, not very tall. He wore a simple black suit, paired with equally simple shiny black shoes.  
  
Kider shook his head. "Nobody knows. We DO know, however, that he made it to his destination. Nobody discovered his presence-we've had our people watching. He hasn't checked in-nor has he been seen since. It's as if he simply disappeared. I admit, this is an annoying setback, but I'll have it taken care of." Ruby tilted his head to the side.  
  
"And how will you do that? They're all together-you know that there's safety in numbers. We know that Saiyuki poses a threat- but Sol, he's-he's even more powerful then her. We need everything to go according to plan, and it won't with him and Hunter around. Also, who the hell was the guy who separated them from their yamis anyway? We NEED answers Kider!" Kider smiled confidently.  
  
"Don't worry, I have some 'professionals' working on the identity of our mystery man, we'll locate him. We'll soon have that same power he now possesses. As for our guests, I have a special surprise in store for them. A very special surprise."  
  
Note- Well, that's the end of this chapter! I won't be able to update until Friday, but I'm sure you guys don't mind. ^-^ Stayed tuned, because the next chapter's gonna be really good! Ciao! 


	9. Ch 8 Wave of Confusion

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness. Okay, I'm going to start off where I left off with Yugi and Co. So, you'll learn more about what Rio and Lani are up to later. Enjoy! ^___^  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 8: Wave of Confusion  
  
"Don't worry, I have some 'professionals' working on the identity of our mystery man, we'll locate him. We'll soon have that same power he now possesses. As for our guests, I have a special surprise in store for them. A very special surprise."  
  
"Wake up damn it! Shit, I just KNOW I'm going to get sued somehow over all of this!" Yugi awoke to the angry voice of Seto Kaiba. He groaned and sat up; his head felt like it had been bashed in with a sledge hammer. Then it hit him. Where was everybody? What had happened? A wave of panic overcame Yugi, and he started to scream.  
  
"YAMI? YAMI?! Where is everybody? Kaiba, what happened? Where are we?" Kaiba sighed and cut Yugi off.  
  
"Will you get a hold of yourself? I have no clue what happened. Or where we are for that matter. *cough* Ahem, uh, I DO remember being in your damn shop, then I woke up here with none other then you." Yugi paled. He was stuck with Kaiba in who knows where? Yugi took a deep breath to calm himself, and got up to his feet. He looked around at his surroundings, which weren't much to say the least. They appeared to be in some sort of dark hallway, the floors and walls made of cement. It was also very chilly, as if they were underground or something.  
  
Yugi pondered this a moment. The last thing he could recall was being in his shop with everyone else. They had been talking then- Yugi rubbed his temples. His head throbbed more then ever, and he couldn't remember anything that happened after that.  
  
/Yugi? Yugi, answer me! Are you okay?\  
  
/Yami? Yeah, I'm fine. Kaiba's here with me\  
  
/Kaiba? *mumbling* Out of all people.\  
  
/Uh, Yami?\  
  
/Yes?\  
  
/Where are you?\  
  
/Erm, I'm trapped in some dark room with Marik. O.o' \  
  
/Uh oh\  
  
"Yugi? What the hell's the matter with you?" Yugi snapped his head up.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"*sigh* You spaced out. Big time."  
  
"Oh. Sorry about that. I was talking to Yami. Apparently he's trapped somewhere here with Marik. I guess everybody's here." Kaiba sweat dropped.  
  
"Great.... *sarcastic voice*" Kaiba turned and started walking away. He looked over his shoulder at Yugi.  
  
"You coming?" Yugi gasped and ran to catch up with Kaiba.  
  
"Kaiba! Where're we going? We have to no idea what happened or where we are or anything! What if we get even more lost?" Kaiba shrugged.  
  
"It's better than just standing around here doing nothing. Besides you moron, we might run one of the others." Yugi sighed and trudged after the CEO.  
  
____________________________________________________  
  
Bakura awoke with a splitting headache. He stood up, rubbing his head, and looked around. 'What the hell?' he thought. He froze when he heard soft breathing behind him. Bakura groaned. 'Dear Ra, don't tell me it's-' Bakura nearly cursed when his eyes fell on the limp figure on the ground. He was alone in some musty basement-like place with no other than Sol himself. Sol was lying on his stomach, obviously out cold. Bakura looked around for a way out, and saw what appeared to be a corridor on the other side of the room.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he looked from the corridor to Sol, then to the corridor. He grinned. 'I'll just leave Goldie here where he is, I'm sure he'll find his way around on his own.' With that, Bakura turned and walked as quietly as he could away from Sol. He was almost there, when a grouchy voice rang out behind him.  
  
"Where are you going, Thief? Thought you could get rid of me that easily? What did you do with everyone?" Bakura turned to see Sol, on his feet, glaring daggers at him. Bakura snorted in response.  
  
"Yeah, I just made us and everyone else go poof! Then I separated us from them hoping that maybe, just maybe, I could get your stupid Item. *sarcastic voice*" Sol ignored him, his eyes wandering the room. He knew that Bakura wasn't the one behind all this-there was absolutely no way. He closed his eyes and tried to get in touch with Hunter.  
  
/Hunter?\ Silence.  
  
/Hunter?\ Silence.  
  
/HUNTER, BY RA IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME I'LL-\  
  
/Ouch! Sol, what the hell are you doing? @_@ You damn near gave me a heart attack!\  
  
/Hunter, where are you? It seems that Kider brought us here somehow, and I'm stuck with the Thief\  
  
/That's not good. Try not to kill him, will you? Remember, he protects Ryou. Hm, I'm not sure where I am, but I'll stay in touch!\  
  
/But Hunter-\  
  
/Bye for now Sol!\ Sol grunted as Hunter cut off the mind link. He sighed, cursing his luck, and faced Bakura.  
  
"Well Thief, what now?"  
  
_____________________________________________  
  
Hunter closed his eyes a moment after talking to Sol. So everyone was separated? 'This is definitely not good' he thought.  
  
"Um, excuse me, are you alright?" Hunter opened his eyes to see a very pretty young girl looking at him. She had sparkling chestnut brown eyes, and long brown hair. She was wearing a light green shirt with blue jeans. He tilted his head, she looked so familiar. Then it hit him.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. You're Joey Wheeler's sister aren't you? I'm Hunter, a friend of his." Serenity's eyes lit up at the mention of her brother.  
  
"You know my brother? That's so cool! I'm his sister, Serenity. It's nice to meet you Hunter. Um, where exactly are we? I mean, I was in my room doing my homework, then the next thing I know, I'm here." Hunter nodded.  
  
"I was with your brother at Yugi's shop, along with some others. I'm not sure what happened either, but I have a good guess at who's behind this. Anyway, you're safe with me, so let's get going. Maybe we'll find your brother." Serenity nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"Yeah, let's go!" Hunter looked around at his surroundings for the first time. They were in small dim hallway. He sighed. 'This place could be huge. Ah well, at least I have some company.'  
  
_______________________________________________  
  
Akimi groggily sat up. 'Where am I?' she thought. Her head ached, and here back hurt, probably from lying on the concrete for so long. She brushed some loose bangs out of her face. She appeared to be in some sort of...attic? She scratched her head, wondering how she had gotten there, when she heard a soft groan. She turned to see a figure lying on his side a few feet away. Her heart leapt in her chest.  
  
"Joey! Omigosh! Are you okay? Joey? Joey wake up!" Joey groaned some more and opened his eyes. He nearly jumped a foot.  
  
"Holy shit! *gasping for breath* Don't scare me like that Akimi! Damn, my head hurts. Where are we?" Akimi giggled. Joey was so cute.  
  
"I have no clue where we are. I'm sure the other are around here somewhere though. Hold on, I'm going to get in touch with Hunter." Joey watched with interest as her Millennium Anklet started glowing (a/n- this is one of its abilities). She closed her eyes and concentrated.  
  
/Hunter? It's me, Akimi!\  
  
/Akimi? Where are you? I talked with Sol earlier, and he thinks that Kider is responsible for this. He's with Bakura right now, and thinks the others are around here too.\  
  
/Kider? That bastard. Ah well, I'm in some sort of attic with Joey.\  
  
/Really? I'm here with his sister, Serenity\  
  
/How did she get here?\  
  
/Do I look like I know everything?\  
  
/*laugh* Yeah right.\  
  
/Thanks a lot. 0_o\  
  
/Ah, don't be a baby! Anyway, we'll try to find you guys. I'm going to contact Saiyuki and see who she's with\  
  
Akimi opened her eyes and looked at Joey.  
  
"Guess what? Hunter's with your sister." Joey gasped.  
  
"WHAT? How did Serenity get here?" Akimi shrugged.  
  
"Sorry, we don't know. We think that Kider did all this though." Joey sighed. 'Great, just one more thing for me to worry about.' He looked up at Akimi.  
  
"I sure hope the others are doing okay."  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Hm, I hope you guys aren't too confused. More will be explained in the next chapter, along with another appearance by Nirouki, Rio and Lani! Anyway, sorry this is late, I went to my school play last night, which had a bunch of my friends in it. ^_^ Anyway, have a good weekend! 


	10. Ch 9 Ambushed!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
In this chapter, I'm going to continue with what's up with everyone from chapter 8; I'll get on with what happened with the others soon. ^_^ Don't forget to review!  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 9: Ambushed!  
  
"I sure hope the others are doing okay."  
  
Bakura glared at Sol's back. They had been walking down the "little corridor" for the past two hours. Bakura was slightly (though he'd die before admitting it) worried about Ryou. He had tried to contact his hikari numerous times, but got no response. It was as if Ryou wasn't even there anymore. The thought made Bakura nervous. If anything happened to Ryou, he would be affected in the same way as well.  
  
Sol took a quick glance over at the white haired teen, who had a thoughtful look on his face. Sol snorted. Bakura, thoughtful? Yeah right. He faced forward again and sighed at the sight. It looked as if they hadn't gotten anywhere.  
  
"Hey, Goldie!" Sol's eye twitched.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Look, this isn't getting us anywhere! We need to do something. You may have gotten in touch with Hunter, but I have yet to hear from Ryou. In case you don't recall, if he gets himself killed, I'LL be killed." Sol rolled his eyes.  
  
"What do you want me to do? There's only one direction we can go Einstein, and that's straight. It's not like we can just go 'poof!' and get to the end of this thing." Bakura clenched his fists. 'That jerk! Who does he think he is? The first chance I get, I'm ripping out his throat!' Sol noticed the evil grin on Bakura's face. He opened his mouth to remark when he noticed Bakura looking at him strangely, a look of disgust on his face. Then he realized that Bakura wasn't looking at HIM, he was looking BEHIND him. Sol turned his head, and nearly jumped out of his skin.  
  
"Dear Bloody Ra!!!"  
  
______________________________________  
  
Hunter yelped at the sudden pang of pain that had erupted in his head. He could feel Sol's emotions. Anger. Fear. Repulsion. He took deep breaths and tried to steady his pulsing heart. He had to find Sol! He looked up at Serenity, who had a slightly worried look on her face. Trying to hide his pain, he put an arm around her shoulders and smiled.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong? You look down." Serenity looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"Hunter! I'm really worried about Joey. What if he gets hurt? I, I just wouldn't be able to bear it!"  
  
"Ah, don't you worry about your brother. He's strong, he can take care of himself." Serenity looked up at him grimly.  
  
"That's what he always says too." She wiped her tears away and started forward, embarrassed about crying in front of Joey's friend. She noticed that Hunter had suddenly stiffened.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Shh! I think I heard something." Hunter turned around, eying the area suspiciously. Serenity tilted her head; she didn't hear anything. Serenity gasped as she felt someone grab her.  
  
"AAAAAAAH! HUUUNTTTERR!" Hunter's head snapped around at her scream. A sick feeling filled his stomach. Serenity wasn't anywhere in sight.  
  
______________________________________  
  
Joey and Akimi walked together silently, searching for any sign of their friends. Joey suddenly had a weird feeling. Like something bad happened.  
  
"Akimi?" she locked eyes with the blonde.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Something isn't right. I can feel it." Akimi frowned.  
  
"We must hurry and find everyone, before-" she never got to finish. She felt a sharp prick in her stomach, and noticed Joey staring at her with a mixture of horror and fright. She looked down and was shocked to see a silver blade protruding from her middle. Akimi looked up at Joey as the blade was withdrawn.  
  
"Joey," she whispered, her vision becoming blurred. She felt her legs go out from under her, and the sting of the cement as her head hit it. The last thing she saw was Joey fighting against something. She tried to call out to him as another thing crept up behind him, but no sound came out. She could only watch, dazed, as Joey was attacked from behind, then dragged through a wall. (a/n- yes people, THROUGH a wall, think, like ghost kind of people vanishing through walls and stuff ^_^)  
  
"W-wait, Joey" she choked out. Akimi closed her eyes, and suddenly felt a comforting warmth wash over her. She opened her eyes to see that she was healed, her Millennium Anklet glowing lightly. (a/n- this is another power of her item, by the way!)  
  
"Those bastards! How could they take Joey? T_T I hardly got to talk to him at all. They WILL pay! Hmm, if they can walk through walls, why can't I?" she huffed. With a determined look on her face, Akimi raced towards the wall Joey had been pulled through, confident that she'd go through like a plane through a cloud. *BAM!* *THUMP!* Akimi was now on her back, her nose nearly broken.  
  
"Ouch, that kind of hurt." x_x  
  
______________________________________  
  
"Hmph! You're just jelous!" Marik snorted.  
  
"You wish Pharaoh. You are below me, and I will soon crush you like the worm you are!" Yami and Marik hadn't gotten anywhere; from the moment Marik had awakened, they had done nothing but argue.  
  
"Look you fool! We're not getting anywhere like this, now let's both shut up and get the hell out of here and find our hikaris!" Marik grinned.  
  
"Okay. I win."  
  
"You do not!"  
  
"Yup, I won. For now I'll cooperate with you, but only until we find Malik. Then I shall destroy you and take your puzzle." ^_^  
  
"Oookay Marik." O.o;  
  
______________________________________  
  
Rio awoke with one hell of a headache. She sat up, her eyes narrowing on Nirouki, who was standing in front of her, his eyes blank. She slapped him hard in the face.  
  
"What the hell happened you freaking idiot? Where's Lani? Well? I asked you a question you moron!" He only continued to stare at her.  
  
"That's it, you're useless." Nirouki now had a strange looking dagger in front of his face, Rio looking thoughtful.  
  
"Now, let's see here, I can either lightly touch you with this, and you'll go crazy, which I admit, would be entertaining. Or, I could just slit your throat and watch you slowly die." A wicked grin crossed her face as she spoke. Rio then frowned as a soft voice filled her head.  
  
"Rio, please don't do this! It's just not right! Rio-"  
  
"Shut up! Stay out of this, it's none of your business!" However, she sheathed her dagger, looking really ticked off. She faced Nirouki.  
  
"Okay, I've got a new job for you. FIND LANI! NOW!" Without hesitation, Nirouki stealthily raced down the passage, intent on completing his job.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- I just reread Ch.8, and it's so dumb! -_-; Ah well, hope this one's better. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Oh ya, I'll post a new chapter either tomorrow or on Friday. 


	11. Ch 10 Let the Games Begin!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Well, it's the day you've all been waiting for! *cough* Or not. The start of the Shadow Kingdom games! ^_^ Don't forget to review!  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 10: Let the Games Begin!  
  
"Okay, I've got a new job for you. FIND LANI! NOW!" Without hesitation, Nirouki stealthily raced down the passage, intent on completing his job.  
  
Ryou stared at the girl who lay in front of him. He had never seen her before. She was quite pretty, and held in her right hand a silver flute that appeared to have unreadable words inscribed on it. Ryou gently shook her shoulder.  
  
"Excuse me, are you okay, Miss? Wake up!" Lani groaned, her sparkling blue eyes fluttering open. She gasped when she saw Ryou, and was immediately up on her feet, tightly clutching her flute. Lani watched him suspiciously, and Ryou stared back, curiosity evident in his soft brown eyes.  
  
"Um, my name's Ryou. What's yours?" he asked, holding out a pale hand. Lani hesitated a moment, then grasped his hand in her own.  
  
"Lani. How in the world did we get here?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure. Is that- is that a Millennium Item you're holding?" Lani smirked.  
  
"Maybe. Maybe not. Why don't you contact Bakura and ask him?"  
  
"Hm, I should contact him to see where he is, shouldn't I? Hey! Wait a minute! What do you know of my Yami?" Lani shrugged.  
  
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Ryou sighed. He'd never understand women. He took a deep breath.  
  
/Um, Bakura?\ Silence.  
  
/Bakura, are you okay?\  
  
/BLAST IT RYOU! WHAT DO YOU WANT?\ Ryou felt a wave of emotions smother him. Something was very wrong. Bakura was terrified and angry, Ryou could feel it.  
  
/Bakura, what's going on?\  
  
/If you must know, Goldie and I here are about to be erased off the face of the earth! By the way, are you okay?\  
  
/Oh, that sounds bad. Yeah, I'm fine, I'm in some sort of musty room with this girl named Lani. She has a weird flute thing, I'm sure it's a Millennium Item!\  
  
/Don't let her out of your sight\  
  
/Wait, did you say that you're with Sol?\  
  
/SHIT! Can't talk now!\ Ryou cringed as the mind link was severed. He looked up at Lani, who was looking quite bored. She gazed at him.  
  
"Well Ryou, where do we go from here?"  
  
________________________________________  
  
Bakura sighed in relief; at least Ryou wasn't hurt. He gazed over at Sol, who had his hands full at the moment. He was fighting against some sort of shadow thing. It looked like a person's shadow. Except that it was solid, powerful, strong, and was nearly impossible to destroy. It had come out of nowhere, attacking them with such ferocity that even Bakura was shocked.  
  
"Aghh! Get over here Thief and help me!" Sol yelled, throwing the creature that was attempting to strangle him off of himself. Bakura pulled a card from his deck and held it out, a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.  
  
Sol, meanwhile, was getting irritated. Bakura was just standing off to the side like a useless idiot, while he was trying to battle something that shouldn't be real! He held his golden hand out, and started to gather up energy for a good attack, when he heard Bakura yell something out. The next thing he knew, a huge black hole appeared under his foe and swallowed it up. Panting, Sol turned to Bakura.  
  
"It's about time you did something you baka! What took you so long?!" Bakura huffed.  
  
"Hmph, for your information, I was talking with Ryou. And I just saved your sorry ass, so you should be grateful!"  
  
"I was about to take care of the problem myself you buffoon!" and on went the arguing.  
  
________________________________________  
  
Saiyuki and Mai wandered down yet another passage. They had been doing this for the past two hours, and had hardly said a word to one another. After Saiyuki had talked with Akimi, who had informed her that she and Joey had been attacked and Joey was now missing, they had set off, looking for their friends. Finally, Mai glanced at Saiyuki.  
  
"Say, um, Saiyuki, is that cutie Hunter single?" Saiyuki crossed her arms.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I was just wondering."  
  
"Is Joey single?"  
  
"Well, yeah, of course he is! Wait a minute, why would you care?"  
  
"It seems to me that my hikari has grown fond of him."  
  
"Oh. You never answered my question."  
  
"I have no clue. I have no interest in the boy's love life."  
  
"Thanks, that's helpful." Mai shoved her hands in her pockets. She really liked Joey, but that Hunter was really hot too. She sighed dramatically. 'Decisions decisions!' she thought.  
  
_______________________________________  
  
Tea smacked Malik in the head, who cried out in pain.  
  
"You bitch! What the hell was that for?!"  
  
"You pervert! I saw the way you were looking at me!" Malik snorted.  
  
"Wishful thinking on your part wench!" Tea's face turned red.  
  
"How dare you! How about I shove my pointy shoe right up your ass?!" Malik clucked his tongue.  
  
"Now, now, Tea. Language!"  
  
"I'll show you language you baka!" Malik chuckled. Tea was excessively annoying, what with her friendship speeches all the time, but very amusing to get angry.  
  
"Whatever. I'm getting bored, let's just find a way out of here."  
  
"Fine."  
  
__________________________________________  
  
Kider rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at the many screens before him- each displaying what his "guests" were doing and where they were. He grinned as his eyes fell on the screen in the middle; it was displayed the "game room", and the first two "players" were being brought in. Ruby appeared at his side.  
  
"Kider, drop the illusion and allow them to watch the first match." Kider raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Excuse me? And why would I do that?"  
  
"It'd be much more fun if they could watch their comrades fall, no?"  
  
"*sigh* As you wish."  
  
_______________________________________  
  
Kaiba and Yugi were walking in silence, with only the sound of their footsteps to comfort them. Suddenly, they felt a wave of nausea, and found themselves in what looked like a living room. They were sitting on a VERY soft and comfy couch, with coffee table filled with snacks before them. Yugi was surprised to see that everyone else had also appeared in the room, along with three people he didn't recognize.  
  
After the excitement had died down, and every had chit chatted, Yugi suddenly looked worried.  
  
"Hey guys, where's Joey and Hunter? Has anyone seen them?" Akimi looked up guiltily.  
  
"Yeah, I have. I was with Joey, but we got attack and he got carried off. Hunter was with Serenity the last time I knew." Tristan's head snapped up.  
  
"WHAT? Serenity's here? With HUNTER?" Akimi ignored him.  
  
"That bastard!" They turned to where she was looking to find a large plasma television on the wall. Kider's face was grinning at them from it.  
  
"Hello everyone! Welcome to Shadow Kingdom! I trust you all have had a nice stay! Our first game or "match" if you will, will be between Joey and Serenity Wheeler!"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Yay, another chapter up! Fwah, I got to see The Missing yesterday, and it's an EXCELLENT movie! You all HAVE to see it! Anyway, I forgot to write Tristan in, like what was going on with him and everything. Oops. ^- ^; Gomen! Ah well, let's just say that he was wandering around aimlessly too. ^_^ Oh, and where is Hunter? Why isn't he with everyone else? You'll see in the next chapter! Have a good weekend! 


	12. Ch 11 Doctor Call

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 11: Doctor Call  
  
"Hello everyone! Welcome to Shadow Kingdom! I trust you all have had a nice stay! Our first game or "match" if you will, will be between Joey and Serenity Wheeler!"  
  
Yugi and the others watched in horror as the screen changed, revealing a strange room with two doors (one on each side of the room). Two men dressed in black suits entered through the door on the left side of the room and threw Serenity on the ground. Serenity was shaking, her eyes filled with terror and tears. Suddenly, a string of curses filled the room as Joey was brought to the room.  
  
"-Get your freakin hands offa me you freaks! Hey! I SAID LEGGO! Huh? SERENITY?" Joey gasped when he saw his sister, who was still on the floor trembling. He turned around, only to find that the door he had entered through was shut and locked up tight.  
  
"Shit! Serenity? Hey Sis, you okay?" Serenity's eyes lit up as she looked up at him.  
  
"Joey? Joey you're here!" She was about to run up to her brother, when Kider and a few armed men appeared. He smiled broadly at them.  
  
"Congratulations you two! You're our first contestants! Now, I'll explain the rules, and then we can get started!" Joey clenched his fists angrily.  
  
"What the hell is this? I aint doin' nothin' against my sister!" Kider sighed in exasperation.  
  
"I'm afraid that you don't have a choice, Mr. Wheeler. You can either do this, or, well, there will be consequences." He eyed Serenity, a strange smile on his lips. Joey frowned. He didn't like where this was going.  
  
"Fine, I'll play your stupid game. But I swear to God that I'll kill you myself if anything happens to Serenity!" Kider grinned.  
  
"Good, I'm glad you've agreed. Shall we proceed?"  
  
______________________________________________  
  
Rio snorted at the screen.  
  
"That bastard! I can't believe he did this to us! Lani, we're going to-"  
  
"Wait a minute, you know him?" Bakura interrupted Rio. She whipped around and glared at him.  
  
"None of your business you freak. Interrupt me again and I'll cut your throat out!" She held her Millennium Dagger dangerously in her hand. Silence filled the room. Marik couldn't wipe the smirk off his face.  
  
"That bitch has a real death wish." Rio shot a glare at him.  
  
"What was that you reject? If you have something to say, say it to my face." Marik raised an eyebrow. Who did this girl think she was talking to? Bakura, on the other hand, was absolutely infuriated. He was so mad he was shaking. Okay, so Sol could get away with talking to him like that, but not some simple mortal girl!  
  
"Cut MY throat out? Listen wench, if you wish to live to see this thing through, you keep your freakin trap shut!" Rio narrowed her eyes, and was about to retort, when Lani stepped in (a/n-wow, people in this fic get interrupted a lot! O-o').  
  
"Rio, this wasn't part of the plan. We're leaving now." Rio bit her lip, tempted to say something, but she managed to restrain herself. She shot Bakura and Marik one last look, then followed Lani. Bakura was about to ask where they were going, when they and Nirouki walked right through the right wall! Kaiba stared at the wall with confusion.  
  
"Who the hell are they?" Nobody could answer him. Yami noticed that Sol was standing off by himself, a look of frustration on his face.  
  
"What's wrong Sol?" Sol looked up at Yami, looking worried.  
  
"I can't get in contact with Hunter. I don't sense him, I can't talk to him- nothing! I just don't know what to do." Yami frowned. He didn't like this. Who were those three? What was Kider planning? And where was Hunter? ____________________________________________  
  
Hunter struggled once more. His wrists were chained to the wall, and he was in some sort of cell. He had been searching for Serenity, when he was suddenly here. Hunter tried to bend his Millennium Hand, he just needed it to be at the right angle, then blast! Then he'd escape. 'Almost got it- there!' Hunter thought as he angled his hand. He readied himself for the blast, than froze. He couldn't feel any power.  
  
"What's going on? Why won't it work?" he wondered aloud. The hair on the back of his neck rose as a smooth chuckle filled the room. He look through the bars and growled at the sight of Ruby.  
  
"What do you want with me, Ruby? Let me out of here!" Ruby chuckled once more (a/n- that must be realllly annoying for Hunter!).  
  
"Now, now, Hunter. You're in good hands. Really. As for your item, there's just a simple spell that surrounds this room, preventing any kind of magic from happening within it. Don't worry, you won't be in here for long." Hunter glared at him.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, we need your item, but unfortunately it's connected to you. Your operation will be in one hour. Ta ta!" Hunter looked horrified.  
  
"Operation? You're not removing my hand you bastard! Hey, get back here!" Ruby smiled as he walked away.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll be sure to sedate you as much as possible. You'll feel NO pain whatsoever. The doctors will be in soon, so rest up!" With that, he was gone. Hunter swallowed. 'I have to get out of here, NOW! But I can't seem to reach Sol. *sigh* What am I going to do? Damn!' Hunter thought. His eyes wandered around the small cell. 'There must be some way out of here!'  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Sorry for the delay, and short chapter, but I've been extremely busy. Now I'm not! ^_^ I'll update tomorrow with an extra long chapter to make up for it. R&R, thanks! 


	13. Ch 12 Game Over

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 12: Game Over  
  
'There must be some way out of here!'  
  
Hunter gazed through the bars, there was a clock on the wall outside of them. Thirty minutes had passed. 'Crap crap crap!' he thought, starting to panic. 'If I could only use my hand-' Hunter's eyes lit up. Duh! Hunter closed his eyes and pulled as hard as he possibly could on the chains. *craccckk* 'It's working!' Hunter pulled even harder, and soon enough the chains broke off the wall. He smiled smugly.  
  
"Hmph, as if I need magic to get myself out of this!" He now turned towards the door. 'Now, to get out of here, but how to get the door open?' Suddenly, three figures walked by, and one of them stopped and peered in at him.  
  
"Hey Rio, stop for a second. Look who I found! It's Hunter." Rio appeared by her side.  
  
"So what? He can sit there and rot for all I care! Come on Lani, we have to have a talk with-"  
  
"Too bad! I'm letting him out. Besides, we've got some "friends" coming, and we don't have time to chit chat with them." Rio rolled her eyes.  
  
"Psh. I suppose you're right. You better hurry up though because I'm not waiting up for you." Rio turned and headed off with Nirouki. Lani walked out of Hunter's sight, then reappeared a moment later with a key in her hand. She put in the lock, which opened with a *click!*, then turned to leave. Hunter quickly dashed out of the cell.  
  
"Hey! Thanks for the help, but who are you? And how do you know who I am?" Lani shrugged.  
  
"It's not important. Oh look, you've got some company." She pointed behind him. Hunter glanced over his shoulder to see three guards, along with Ruby, that were headed his way. He turned around to find that Lani, Rio, and the man with them were gone.  
  
Ruby looked infuriated. He narrowed his eyes at Hunter, who now stood in a fighting stance. Ruby took a deep breath, and seemed to relax. He smiled calmly at Hunter.  
  
"Well, well, well, this was quite unexpected. No matter, it's time for your doctor's appointment Hunter. We don't want to keep him waiting, know do we?" Hunter raised his hand as the guards approached.  
  
"Sorry, but I have other plans."  
  
________________________________________  
  
Joey and Serenity were standing on what looked light a giant board game, while Kider stood off to the side explaining the rules.  
  
"Now, here's how the first game will work: you both will get a dice to roll. As in any game, you move forward on as many squares as the number on the dice. The first one to the end wins!" Serenity slightly smiled nervously at her brother.  
  
"Well, that doesn't sound too hard."  
  
"Oh yes, did I forget to mention that there are some, well, 'special' squares that you can land on. These can have good effects-and bad effects. But I'm sure you two won't even touch them! Now, let the game begin! You can start off first, Ms. Wheeler." Kider tossed Serenity a good sized dice (a/n- it's about the size of those fuzzy dice that you can hang in your car). She took a deep breath and tossed it on the ground. Joey watched it apprehensively as it rolled to a stop. Kider beamed.  
  
"You rolled a five!" Serenity bit her bottom lip and gingerly took five steps forward. As soon as she landed on the fifth square, a surge of electricity jolted through her from it. She yelped and fell to her knees, much to Joey's horror.  
  
"SERENITY! Sis talk to me! Are you alright?" Serenity slowly pushed herself off the ground, tears falling from her eyes. She shook her head a few times, then smiled bravely at her brother.  
  
"I-I'm fine Joey. It didn't hurt, not really!" Joey gritted his teeth. He knew she was lying. He faced Kider, only to have dice thrown to him. Kider rubbed his hands together.  
  
"Well, Mr. Wheeler, it's your turn!" Joey growled and tossed the dice to the floor. It rolled and tumbled, then slowly turned over and came to a stop. Kider looked slightly disappointed.  
  
"Three, how boring. Ah well, maybe you'll roll a six next time." Joey took three steps forward; he really didn't want to do this. He stopped on the third square, bracing himself for whatever was going to come. Nothing happened.  
  
_________________ Twenty Minutes Later______________________  
  
Serenity and Joey were about halfway to the finish mark, and so far they had faired pretty well, neither had touched a "special" square since Serenity had gotten shocked at the beginning of the game. It was Joey's turn, and he had just rolled a four. He took four steps forward and-  
  
"JOEY!!!!" Joey whipped around to find that a ring of fire had erupted around Serenity. Before he had a chance to react, Kider was quickly in front of him, blocking his view of his sister.  
  
"How unfortunate. Don't worry about her, the fire will dissipate as soon as she rolls the dice! Finally something interesting happened! Whew, I was beginning to think that we should have chosen a more interesting game! Anyway, you better roll Serenity and-" *POW!* Kider was interrupted when Joey's fist connected with his jaw. Kider's head snapped back from the force, and he fell to the ground. Joey jumped over him and raced to his sister, who was looking absolutely terrified, the flames licking at her clothes.  
  
"Hold on Sis!" Joey blew through the flames, scooped up his sister, and dashed out to the middle of the "board". He hugged her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.  
  
"Shhh, it's okay." Joey frowned as Kider stood up, looking quite ticked off. A huge bruise was starting to form on his face.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that Mr. Wheeler. I'm disqualifying you. Serenity wins." Joey snorted in disgust.  
  
"I don't care! I'm through with your stupid game anyway! Did you think that I'd just stand there while your hurt my sister? You keep away from her you moron!" Kider rubbed his sore jaw, all the while smirking.  
  
"Whatever. You DO know what happens to losers don't you?"  
  
_________________________________________________  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi and Co. had been watching from the "living room". They watched apprehensively as Kider asked Joey something. They didn't quite hear what he said, as the picture began to become fuzzy. Suddenly, it went black. Everyone gasped in shock.  
  
"JOEY! SERENITY!" Yugi cried. Yami shook with anger. 'By Ra, if he so much as lays a finger on Joey or Serenity I will-" He was startled out of his thoughts by a scream. Serenity had suddenly fallen on the floor, out of nowhere. Tristan immediately ran to her, but she yelled and pushed him away.  
  
"No! Don't touch me! Joey!" She hugged her knees to her chest and buried her head into her arms, bursting into tears. Akimi shoved Tristan out of the way.  
  
"Move over you idiot! Serenity? Serenity, are you okay? Where's Joey? Listen, I know it's hard, but you have to tell us what happened! Alright? Can you do that for me?" Serenity coughed and took a few breaths, but she looked up at Akimi and slowly nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks. __________________________________________________  
  
Hunter grimaced- his shoulder hurt like hell. He hadn't known that Ruby's guards weren't human-they were something else. They had been tough, but he had managed to beat them. He eyed Ruby's unconscious form that laid on the ground; the fool had actually tried to fight him. Hunter got him good, but had decided not to kill him-for the moment. He still needed information out of him. 'Hm, I should tell Sol what's going on' he thought. He took a breath and concentrated.  
  
/Sol?\  
  
/HUNTER? BY RA ARE YOU OKAY?\  
  
/Ow. @_@\  
  
/Oops. Sorry\  
  
/It's okay. I'm fine. I've got Ruby here, he's currently taking nap\  
  
/Is he? Well, I'm afraid I have bad news. The games have begun, and the first one was between Joey and his sister. We're not sure what happened, but the girl is back, without Joey. She's quite upset, but she's going to talk when she gets a hold of herself\  
  
/Damn! I'll try to find you once Sleeping Beauty here wakes up and talks, alright?\  
  
/Fine. Be careful Hunter\  
  
/Can do\  
  
___________________________________________________  
  
Rio, Lani, and Nirouki burst into the room. The only person there was a tall man, dressed in khakis and a blue shirt. He had short, spiky black hair and soft green eyes. He smiled lightly at his visitors.  
  
"Why Lani, Rio, how pleasant it is to see you! I see that you brought Nirouki as well. Come, have a seat!" Rio and Lani didn't look as excited however.  
  
"Cut the crap Taeo! What the hell is going on?" Rio spat angrily. Taeo's smile never faltered.  
  
"I've no idea what you're talking about. We've carried out the agreement as planned-" He gasped as Rio held him in the air by the throat, anger burning in her eyes. Lani stepped beside her.  
  
"You set us up Taeo. You tried to double cross us." Lani said softly. Taeo's calm exterior broke, and panic filled his eyes.  
  
"N-no! You two don't understand! It's not like that! Just let me explain!" He gagged as Rio's hold tightened. His eyes widened with fear, and he started to struggle as Lani held up her Millennium Flute, and put it up to her lips.  
  
"Good-bye, Mr. Taeo."  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Whew, I finally finished this chapter! Finally! Wow, I was really sick for a while there. Lol, Monday I went to school, even though I still felt a little sick. I got home, and felt better. That night, I was chatting with my bff, when I looked in the mirror, and noticed that my face was a dark shade of red. O.o; I hung up, and my mom took my temperature. 102 degrees. Whopdedoo! I've gotten better though, and am mostly recovered, except for the fact that I seem to have major sinus problems. *sigh* Now my mom wants to take me to the doctor cuz she thinks I have a sinus infection. -_-; I did get my flu shot on Thursday- a little late though for it.  
  
Ah well, I'm better and back to writing, yay! ^_^ I might not update much next week though, because I have finals. Oh joy. T_T (when will it all end?!!!) After that though I have nearly 3 weeks off from school for winter break! YAY!!! ^_______^ 


	14. Ch 13 Explanations and Chit Chat

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Note- Okay, this chapter is a lil bit different from the others, because a part of it is told in Serenity's point of view. Other n' that though, it's still pretty much written the same. Just telling you guys! (  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 13: Explanations and Chit Chat  
  
"Good-bye, Mr. Taeo." ________________________________________  
  
Serenity hiccupped and sobbed, but she was starting to calm down. She took a deep breath and looked up at the anxious faces around her. Akimi put a comforting arm around her.  
  
"Are you okay enough to talk now?" Serenity nodded.  
  
"Oh you guys! It-it's all my fault!" she sobbed, fresh tears springing to her eyes. The others exchanged glances, but said nothing. Serenity wiped her eyes with her hand.  
  
"W-well *cough* it was like this-"  
  
*Flashback- and Serenity's Point of View*  
  
The dice rolled to a stop. It landed on four. My brother nervously stepped forward, and the next thing I knew, I was surrounded by fire. I screamed as the heat quickly smothered me- making it difficult to breath. I yelled for Joey, he was my only hope! I could hear voices, and that Kider guy's sick laughter.  
  
"JOEY!!!!" I coughed as I started to choke. It was too much! The hot flames danced around and around, inching closer to me. I suddenly felt dizzy; everything appeared to be spinning in a swirl of color. My knees buckled under me, and I braced myself for the impact with the floor I knew was coming. It never came.  
  
"Hold on Sis!"  
  
"Huh?" I felt strong arms wrap around me, and the unbearable heat subsided. I knew it was my brother, and suddenly, I couldn't hold it in any longer, and I started crying. My brother just hugged me tightly.  
  
"Shhh, it's okay." I shuddered, but felt relatively calmer. My brother always had that effect on me.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that Mr. Wheeler. I'm disqualifying you. Serenity wins." I finally opened my eyes- my vision was slightly blurred, but I could see that slime ball as clear as the nose on my face. He didn't look very happy, and he had an ugly bruise forming on his face. I gasped and looked up at Joey. Had he done that? I vaguely heard my brother say something in retort. My heart skipped a beat at what that awful man said next.  
  
"Whatever. You DO know what happens to losers don't you?" Kider took a step towards us. Joey set me down and stood up in front of me. I jumped up and grabbed his arm.  
  
"No Joey, don't!" Joey turned and grinned at me.  
  
"Nah, you won fair and square Sis! Nothing to worry about!" The look in his eyes told me a different story.  
  
"Awww, how sweet! A Kodak moment! Don't worry Mr. Wheeler; this will hurt me a lot more that it will hurt you." Kider sneered. Suddenly I noticed that he was holding something in his right hand, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I felt Joey tense up as Kider held the thing up towards us. I froze and closed my eyes tightly, gripping my brother's arm.  
  
"Joey!" There was a flash of light- it was so bright, I could see it even though my eyes were shut! Then everything descended into darkness. I opened my eyes, and it was pitch black. I looked around frantically, I couldn't see a thing! And I was no longer holding onto my brother- when had I let go?! I tried to call out to him, but it was as if there was something holding my mouth shut; my tongue felt swollen. Suddenly, I found myself back in the room. Except there was one big difference; my brother was on his knees, his head in his hands.  
  
"Oh my God! Joey! Are you okay? What's wrong?" I knelt beside him. He was shaking, and his breathing was rigid. He looked up at me and I nearly screamed. His eyes were almost completely blank. He shuddered and held his head tighter, like he was fighting something. He managed to give me a small, forced smile.  
  
"G-get out of here Sis. I'll b-be okay." I shook my head, and felt my eyes filling up with tears once more. How could I ever leave my brother? My arms flailed as I suddenly felt the solid ground under me give way, and I found myself screaming as I plummeted downward.  
  
*End of flashback, back to normal point of view* ____________________________________  
  
The gang looked at Serenity in shock. How could this have happened? Kaiba, who was normally unreadable, now held a mixture of emotions in his cobalt blue eyes. 'Damn, damn, damn!!! What the hell is going on?' he thought, frustrated at how powerless he was. Serenity was once again sobbing into Akimi's shoulder; Akimi herself looked like she'd cry. Yugi had tears in his eyes, but he managed to hold them back. He turned to Yami, who looked quite ticked off at the moment.  
  
/Yami?\  
  
/Yes?\  
  
/I-I'm scared.\  
  
/I know, Aibou, but we'll get Joey back, I promise!\  
  
_________________________________  
  
Hunter sat on the dusty ground, a bored expression on his face. He sighed and glanced over at Ruby, who was still lying on the ground, seeming lifeless. Hunter quickly scrambled to his feet as Ruby groaned and began to stir. Ruby yelped when he opened his eyes and saw Hunter.  
  
"Please! Don't kill me! It wasn't my fault! It was Kider- he MADE me do it!" Hunter snorted in disgust and heaved Ruby up off the floor by his collar.  
  
"I don't care you idiot! Now, you're going to take me to my friends, and you're going to take me now. If you don't, I'll kill you." Ruby looked into Hunter's eyes- and knew he was dead serious. He nodded glumly.  
  
"Fine, I'll take you. J-just don't hurt me!" (a/n- what a wimp!) Hunter nodded.  
  
"Alright then, get going!" He prodded Ruby in the back, who jumped and quickly started forward.  
  
_________________________________  
  
Dentei sighed as he watched the events unfold. He knew what was going to happen- it was inevitable. He took a sip of his coffee and closed his eyes; savoring the rich, warm flavor. He was short for a man- only about five feet four inches tall. He had short, curly, chestnut brown hair, and dark blue eyes. He wore a plain white button up shirt with black slacks. He was slim, but not scrawny. Dentei was quite a reasonable man; he was clever, smart, and soft spoken.  
  
*Ding Ding Beep Beep Ding!* His cell phone went off, and he opened it up and put it to his ear.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What have I said to you about failure?" Dentei stiffened at the voice. It was soft, yet, it held a certain menacing tone to it. Dentei swallowed.  
  
"It is not tolerated Master."  
  
"I'm glad you are aware of the rules. Now, what progress has that numbskull Kider made?"  
  
"The first 'game' is complete. The one called Joey Wheeler forfeited to save his sister."  
  
"Ah, Mister Wheeler. A charming addition to our little 'team'. Good-bye for now." *Click*  
  
Dentei wiped his brow; he was noticeably sweating. He put the cell phone on the table and leaned back in his chair.  
  
"Oi, I'm getting too old for this."  
  
_____________________________________  
  
Yugi and Co. snapped to attention when the television turned back on. Once again, Kider's grinning face filled the screen.  
  
"Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first round! Now, time for the next game! The next two competitors shall be-"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- That wasn't too bad, was it? Ohh, I introduced another character! Yay! Dentei was basically talking to the 'top dog' so to speak, the guy in charge of everything. So, ya, if you were confused or something. Ya. *cough* ANYWAY, it turns out that my finals are quite easier than I expected, therefore less studying is needed, and I'm less stressed. Plus I got inspired.  
  
Oh ya, tell me in your reviews who you all think should 'play' next! I guess it's kind of a poll or something. Ya. *nods head* Anyways, ciao! R&R please! ^_~ 


	15. Ch14 The Great Smack, no, SLAP Down!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Note- Okay, I put names in a bowel and drew 'em. Now, here's the next 'game'! Enjoy! ^___^  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 14: The Great Smack, no, SLAP Down!  
  
"Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first round! Now, time for the next game! The next two competitors shall be-"  
  
Kider paused, enjoying the suspense.  
  
"Well, how about I tell you what game they'll be playing, hm? Oh, it's one of my favorites! Slap Jack! Aren't you all excited?" Yami's face held a mixture of horror and repulsion. He looked around, surprised to see that the others didn't look too concerned. He turned to his hikari.  
  
"How could you not be disgusted by that horrid game? Yugi?!" Yugi shrugged, looking up at him in confusion.  
  
"What're you talking about Yami? Slap Jack is fun, especially when there're a lot of people playing!" Yami backed away from Yugi, he felt sick to his stomach. A burst of laughter filled the room. Yami angrily turned to the source, who was no other than Bakura. Bakura's cheeks were flushed, and he was laughing quite hard, to everyone's surprise.  
  
"What's your problem Bakura? You think our situation is funny? Is that it?" Yami demanded. Bakura gulped in some air in an effort to calm himself.  
  
"No, I find your lack of intelligence just hilarious! You don't know what Slap Jack is do you? It's just a card game you fool!" Yami flushed in both anger and embarrassment.  
  
"A card game huh? And how would a thief like you know such a thing?" Bakura snorted.  
  
"I KNOW because Ryou taught me. What, did you think that we would hang a guy named Jack from the ceiling like a piñata and slap at him? Hm, although- " Ryou quickly slapped his hand over his yami's mouth.  
  
"Don't EVEN think about it Bakura!" Bakura growled as Ryou released his hand. Kider began speaking again.  
  
"Now, anyway, the next game will be between Yugi and Ryou! Oh, I'm just so excited!" (a/n- Oops, I think I made Kider a wee bit toooo happy about all this O.o; ) A mixture of reactions exploded in the room.  
  
"Now see here! I'm not just going to let you force my hikari to fight one of his friends!" Yami protested. Tea and Tristan shouted their own protests as well. Yugi stood silent and wide eyed.  
  
"Well, this should be quite interesting." Marik said, more to himself then to anyone else. Yami turned to Bakura.  
  
"Aren't you upset about this AT ALL? I mean-"  
  
"Yes, yes, I KNOW Pharaoh, if my hikari is injured I will be too. If he dies, so will I. BUT, the Mutt's sister said that he wasn't hurt or killed, he was just, CHANGED. Besides, I have complete confidence that my hikari will kick your hikari's ass." Everyone looked at Bakura in shock. Yami marched up to the former thief.  
  
"How can you say that?! Hmph, as if Yugi would lose to RYOU." Yami smirked as Bakura raised an eyebrow.  
  
"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bakura said in a dangerous voice. Yami crossed his arms.  
  
"It means whatever you think it means, Thief." Before either one of them could open their mouths to argue more, Akimi stepped in, literally, right between them.  
  
"Listen you two idiots, quick acting like children! Now, stop fighting and- Hunter?!"  
  
Everyone turned in surprise to see Hunter casually standing by Sol. They were talking quietly, with worried looks on their faces. Hunter had the feeling he was being watched, and glanced up. He grinned at the shocked faces staring at him.  
  
"Hey guys, what'd I miss?" Tea's eyes lit up, and she took a step forward, only to find Mai standing in front of her. Tea had the urge to rip her wavy, golden hair out, but then Mai asked a startling question.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion, but in case you guys haven't noticed, Ryou and Yugi aren't in here anymore!" Yami gasped. She was right! But when had they disappeared? Yami's eyes scanned the room- Yugi had been there a moment ago! Bakura was looking quite indifferent at the moment, which was rare, since he normally always looked angry.  
  
"Are you two ready?" Everyone looked toward the television, only to see Ryou and Yugi on it, in the 'game room'. Kider grinned and handed them a deck of cards.  
  
"Who's going to shuffle the cards?" Ryou reached for them.  
  
"I'll do it." Yugi watched in amazement at how skillful Ryou was with them. After a few seconds, he cut the deck, and gave half of the cards to Yugi. Kider raised his arm up.  
  
"Begin!" Immediately the two started taking turns flipping cards over. They started off slow, but they got faster, and faster. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. SLAP! Yugi had a shocked look on his face, and his hand slowly reached up to his cheek, which was slightly red. He looked at Ryou, who seemed to be just as shocked.  
  
"Ryou", Yugi asked, "Did you just slap me?" Marik burst out laughing, Yami shouted in anger, and Bakura applauded his hikari.  
  
"Wow, Ryou! Perhaps you're not the wimp I've always thought you to be. Excellent job, slapping the Pharaoh's hikari up!" Bakura chuckled and turned to Marik.  
  
"See, I knew my influence would rub off on him sometime!" Bakura was grinning ear to ear, he couldn't believe how entertaining this was turning out to be! Yami wasn't as amused however. He raced up to the screen and pointed an accusing finger at Ryou.  
  
"You! You! You!" Yami was so angry, he couldn't really speak. Akimi rolled her eyes and whispered something to Hunter. He nodded, brought two of his fingers to his lips, and let out a loud, sharp whistle. The noise immediately stopped.  
  
Kider walked up to Yugi and Ryou, a smile (a/n - of course) on his face.  
  
"My apologies you two, I forgot to mention that whenever you two attempt to slap a jack- the one who doesn't get to it first feels the slap of the jack!" (a/n - did you people get that? *sweatdrop*)  
  
__________________23 Minutes Later_______________________  
  
Ryou and Yugi continued to play, neither giving in, although both had cheeks that were quite red.. They were in deep concentration. Their friends watched them in stunned silence. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip. Flip.  
  
A large pile of cards had formed, and not a jack to be slapped had appeared for quite awhile. Yugi flipped a card down. An ace. Ryou flipped one down. Everyone held their breath as they saw what it was as it turned over. It was a jack. Yugi and Ryou locked eyes for a moment, then raised up their hands. Time seemed to slow as their hands approached the card. (a/n- oh, the drama, the excitement! *sweatdrop*)  
  
*SLAP!*  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Apologies for the delay! *sigh* I got sick AGAIN on Wednesday, but since I had finals at school this week (and we have half days of school for this week too!) I decided to go anyway. Thursday morning I woke up VERY sick. TT I didn't want to miss finals, but my mom made me stay home. Good thing too. We went to the doctor, and I got X Rayed and got my blood tested, and it turns out that I have an acute sinus infection, and pneumonia. So, I couldn't go to school on Friday either. Good thing I'm on Christmas break now.  
  
They said I could have mono, but they never called us back, so we're assuming I don't. (whew!) ^___^ Lol, you might ask WHY I'm on the computer when I'm supposed to be so sick. Well, I've been taking A LOT of medicine, and am happy to report that I feel almost completely better. Although, I won't be completely over this for like, two weeks. I was supposed to go shopping with my family today, but I felt a little nauseous this morning, and my mom made me stay home and rest, and they got to go -_- . But, I'm bored and feeling good, so I went on the computer! ^_______^  
  
ANYWAY, who do you guys want to win? Yugi, or Ryou? You choose! ^_^ Also, there may be a little cat fight in the next chapter. Hm, wonder who it'll be between? 


	16. Ch 15 Conspiracy Theories

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Note- Okay, the results are in! The winner is-  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 15: Conspiracy Theories  
  
*SLAP!*  
  
Silence filled the room as everyone eagerly awaited to see who had won. Kider smiled a toothy grin and pointed at a wide-eyed Ryou.  
  
"We have our winner! Ryou proceeds to the next round!" Ryou yelped as the ground below him gave way, and he soon found himself back in the 'living room' with his yami and the others. Kider then turned to a shocked-looking Yugi.  
  
"Well, I do have to say that I am some what surprised at your loss, you being the 'King of Games' and all. Too bad! Shall we proceed?" Yami could only gape at the screen as it went black, yet again. He suddenly rounded on Ryou, who was being congratulated by a proud-looking Bakura. Yami grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him up into the air.  
  
"How could you?! I thought you were his friend, but it seems that you're no better than your wicked yami! Yugi should've been the one to win-not you!" Ryou struggled in his grasp and stuttered, attempting to explain.  
  
"Y-Yami, please listen, I'd never hurt Yugi on purpose! I didn't mean to, honest!" Before anymore could be said, Yami was suddenly hit to the ground. Bakura helped Ryou up and rubbed his fist, and looked down on Yami, who was quite shocked to say the least.  
  
"Hmph, keep your filthy hands off my hikari Pharaoh! It's your hikari's own fault he lost, he was just too slow. Get over it and quit trying to pin his failure on others, and maybe we could figure out a plan to get him and the Mutt back." Everyone gawked at Bakura; he actually said something quite intelligent that made sense for once! Bakura scoffed.  
  
"What, do I have something on my face? Idiots." With that, he walked back over to Ryou, mumbling a string of curses in Egyptian. Akimi rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then spoke up.  
  
"For once, the thief is right you guys. We KNOW that Kider didn't kill Joey and Yugi, he's probably going to try to use them against us." Tristan snorted.  
  
"Oh ya, how do ya know that he didn't?" Akimi shot Tristan an annoyed look.  
  
"Because Genius, if he had, Yami wouldn't be here with us, now would he?" Tristan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.  
  
"Ya whatever." Akimi smirked.  
  
"Hm, that's what I thought. Anyway, we DO need to come up with a plan before the next 'match' begins. Any bright ideas?" She sighed as her ears were met with silence.  
  
___________________________________________  
  
Dentei lounged back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. He grinned at the pair of teens that stood in front of him.  
  
The boys looked quite different from each other; one was tall, and had unruly dirty blond hair. The other was at least a foot shorter, and sported wild hair with equally wild highlights. There was one thing that they DID have in common, however. Their eyes. Their eyes were the same piercing gray, but they also appeared to be faded, dark even, as if they had lost their spark.  
  
Dentei nodded to them.  
  
"So, Mister Wheeler, Mr. Motou, are you two prepared for the task I have assigned to you?" The boys nodded in unison.  
  
"Good, and you know the punishment for failure?" Joey flashed his trademark grin and gave Dentei a thumbs up.  
  
"Yep, sure do Boss! Yug' and I will take care of everything, right Yug'?" Joey nodded towards Yugi.  
  
"Sure Joey. Don't worry Boss, everything will go according to plan, no problem." Yugi replied, voice full of confidence. Dentei nodded approvingly.  
  
"Then everything is in order then."  
  
____________________________________  
  
"Ah man, of course! I can't believe we didn't think of it earlier!" Everyone turned to Hunter.  
  
"Well, out with it!" Yami snapped irritably. Hunter raised an eyebrow, but ignored the former Pharaoh's outburst.  
  
"Duh, Yami, you can communicate with Yugi." Yami stared at him blankly.  
  
"Erm, what?" Hunter groaned.  
  
"Hello! Do I have to spell it out for you? You and Yugi have a mind link, a connection! Use it to talk to him to see if he and Joey are alright!" Yami's eyes lit up.  
  
"Of course! Good thing I remembered it." Yami received glares from those that were NOT amused as he closed his eyes in order to contact his other half.  
  
/Yugi, are you there? Yugi?\  
  
/Hm? Yami?\  
  
/YUGI! By Ra, are you okay? Are you hurt?\  
  
/I'm fine Yami\  
  
Yami frowned. Yugi sounded different. He sounded quite calm, happy even.  
  
/Are you sure you're okay Yugi? Is Joey there with you?\  
  
/I'm fine, and yes, Joey's here with me\  
  
/Well, is he hurt or anything?\  
  
/No\  
  
/. . . \  
  
/Yami, I have to go now, bye\  
  
/Yugi, wait-!\  
  
It was too late, Yugi had closed the connection off. Yami growled in frustration. Yugi had never just cut him off like that before. He opened his eyes to his friends.  
  
"Well, is he alright?" Hunter asked. Yami shook his head.  
  
"Something's very wrong you guys.  
  
____________________________________  
  
Lani dumped out another box of files, papers scattering everywhere. She grunted irritably and kicked the wall, which produced a nice sized hole. She cursed and turned to an amused-looking Rio.  
  
"Well, wherever he put them, they're not here. Let's get out of here."  
  
"Hm, maybe you're right. However, we're NOT leaving until we have them. Got it? So quit whining and get searching." Rio turned to a locked filing cabinet and punched out the lock. Grinning, she ripped out a drawer, turning it upside down and emptying it contents onto the ground. She frowned and proceeded to dump out all the other drawers as well.  
  
"See Lani, I told you that we'd find it with a little bit of patience." Rio triumphantly held up three, thick blue folders. Lani shrugged indifferently.  
  
"Finally, anyway, what's next on our agenda?"  
  
______________________________  
  
As Yami and the others were discussing what had happened, Kider once again appeared on the screen.  
  
"Alrighty folks, break time's over. Next up are Hunter and-"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Sorry for the late update, but, you know, the holidays and all. And I also got DDR Max 2 for the PS2! Yay! ^_^ It's so fun, and all my friends have been over to play it (hah, I'm the only one who has it!).  
  
So, who shall Hunter's competitor be? You decide! ^^ Oh ya, don't ask about the title. *sweatdrop* 


	17. Ch 16 Dance, Baby Dance!

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 16: Dance, Baby Dance!!!  
  
"Alrighty folks, break time's over. Next up are Hunter and Tristan!" Before the gang could react, Hunter and Tristan found themselves in the 'Game Room'. As soon as Tristan saw what they'd be playing, he grinned and laughed. Before them stood what looked like an arcade game, along with a metal pad with arrows on it before. Kider gestured to it.  
  
"Mister Hunter, Mister Taylor, you two will be competing in DDR MAX 2!!!" Yami turned to Tea.  
  
"Hey, isn't that that game you're always playing at the arcade?" Tea bristled with anger.  
  
"HEY! HOW COME THEY GET TO PLAY DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION? I'M THE DANCER HERE!!! *breath intake* *gasp* Oh, ya Yami, it is. Except the one I play on is DDR Extreme, not DDR Max 2."  
  
"I see."  
  
Meanwhile, Tristan was grinning ear to ear. He glanced over at Hunter as they took their positions.  
  
"Sorry man, but I can't go easy on you. Y'see, Tea taught me how to play, and I AM pretty good, if I do say so myself." Hunter ignored him, instead turning to Kider.  
  
"I'll play your little game for now you bastard. You just wait." Kider raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.  
  
"Alright you two, it's already set up. Your first song is End of the Century (A/n-This is so much fun on light mode! Damn hard on standard mode though). On heavy mode. Good luck!" Tristan swallowed.  
  
"H-heavy mode? Ah shit." Almost instantly, the screen changed, displaying a colorful background. Tea sighed and shook her head. Yami glanced at her.  
  
"What?" "I don't know about Hunter, but Tristan's screwed. Very screwed. Heavy mode is for PROS, such as myself, ONLY. Tristan can hardly handle Beginner's mode." Yami frowned as Yugi looked up at the television, worry etched in his face.  
  
Tristan gasped as the screen was suddenly flooded in arrows. Tristan struggled to keep up, but his feet didn't seem to be cooperating. Frustrated, Tristan snuck a glance over his shoulder at Hunter, and gasped. Hunter was getting every arrow. 'Perfect!' 'Perfect!' 'Great!' constantly appeared on his side of the screen. For a guy made up of pure muscle, he was surprising graceful, his feet gliding over the arrows on the metal pad.  
  
Tristan narrowed his eyes in concentration. He was NOT going to let Hunter get the best of him. His life depended on it.  
  
"It's the end-the end- the end of the century!!!!" Tristan nearly collapsed as the song came to end. He was exhausted. He had barely kept from failing. His score: an E. Hunter stepped down from the metal pad and took a breath: he had received a AA. Kider shook his head.  
  
"You're not done yet, Boys. Round 2 is about to begin! Your next song is one of my personal favorites: Paranoia KCET. Go!" (A/N-I hate this song with a passion, by the way. I can barely do it in light mode, let alone standard mode! ')  
  
Tristan and Hunter stepped up and prepared themselves for another round.  
  
________________________________________  
  
Lani sighed irritably as she and Rio turned yet another corner. She had come to a pretty obvious conclusion: they were lost.  
  
"Rio."  
  
"What now?"  
  
"Do you have any idea where you're going?"  
  
"Nope. You have a problem with that?"  
  
"Well ya, I wanna get out of here! I'm sick of being here."  
  
"Too bad. They cheated us." Rio's lips curved into a light smirk.  
  
"One down. We still have to have a chit chat with the other three. Don't you agree?"  
  
"I really don't care at this point." Lani replied haughtily. They continued in silence.  
  
________________________________________  
  
Hunter's feet flew around rapidly. As he gasped for breath, he thought about how he had found Sol and the others. (A/N-Haha, I just realized that I forgot to write in how he did. I could have sworn I did-oops. ^^')  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
Ruby had been leading him around in what seemed like circles, and Hunter was getting increasingly impatient. He finally turned and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, lifting him a good few inches off the ground.  
  
"Okay, cut the crap! Where are they? You're going to tell me, and you're going to tell me now! Unless you have a death wish." Hunter lifted the palm of his hand up at the cowering man.  
  
"O-okay okay! Just put me down!" Hunter dropped him roughly to the ground and crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Alright, now where are they?" Ruby suddenly smirked.  
  
"Fool! You're going to end up in the shadows, just like your friends!" Ruby suddenly lurched forward, heaving himself into the surprised teen. Surprisingly to Hunter, instead of smashing through the wall, he went right through it, landing on top of none other than Bakura himself.  
  
*END OF FLASHBACK* (A/N-I'll just skip the part you know came next-Bakura getting pissed off, everyone having to step in, etc.) ____________________________________________  
  
Ruby meanwhile, had raced back Taeo's room. He immediately got suspicious when he found the door left ajar. He slowly entered the darkened room, and blindly felt around for the light. *click* 'Got it!' He thought. Ruby gasped when the room lit up. The entire room had been trashed.  
  
"Taeo? Hello?" Ruby was startled by a noise coming from behind the overturned desk. He cautiously peeked over it, and was surprised (and disturbed) by what he saw. Taeo was sitting, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, rocking back and forth. He was giggling to himself, a crazed look in his eyes, and a light scratch mark on his forehead. Ruby shook his head sadly and walked away, all the while taking out his cell phone. He dialed a number and held it to his ear.  
  
"It's me. I'm afraid that Mr.Taeo is the victim of Ms.Rio's Millennium Dagger. It's as flipped his lid. Dispose of him immediately." _____________________________________________  
  
It was over. The final round was finally over. Hunter had won Round 1, Tristan (believe it or not) Round 2, but Hunter had pulled through at the end and won Round 3. Tristan collapsed to his knees, stunned at his loss.  
  
"Hey Buddy, you okay?" Tristan's head shot up at the voice. He froze as his eyes laid on Yugi and Joey, standing together casually in the doorway. Joey beckoned him.  
  
"It's okay that you lost. This was just some sick game to mess with our heads, no biggie. Come one, we'll give you a 'behind the scenes' tour." Without hesitation, Tristan was up on his feet and had already followed them out. Hunter shook his head.  
  
"Fool." Kider turned to him.  
  
"Congrats. I must say that I am surprised; I didn't know that you could do DDR. Anyway, since you DID lose Round 2, you have to receive a penalty." Hunter tensed up.  
  
"Oh ya? What kind of penalty? Besides, Tristan cheated and tried to knock me down, so that wasn't even fair."  
  
"It doesn't matter if he cheated. Don't worry, it's nothing big-"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note-Ah, don't worry, Hunter's not gonna get hurt or anything. *sarcastic voice* Based on your reviews, I'm getting this strange feeling that you all don't like Tristan. Hm, maybe it's just me. Anyway, sorry 'bout the late update, but I was having issues in my computer classes. Ugh, I hate C++ Programming, it's freakin' hard!  
  
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to my now favorite game- Dance Dance Revolution! ^_^ *yawn* I'll update Sat. and Sun. to makeup for the lack of updates this week. Ciao! Oh ya, who do you think should 'play' next? 


	18. Ch 17 Shadows in the Dark

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
*NOTE*- Grrr. . . *glares at ff.net* I apologize for the delay, but I was LOCKED out of my account. Hmph. -Now I can update again though, so w/out further ado, here's the next chapter!  
  
Chapter 17: Shadows in the Dark  
  
"Congrats. I must say that I am surprised; I didn't know that you could do DDR. Anyway, since you DID lose Round 2, you have to receive a penalty." Hunter tensed up.  
  
"Oh ya? What kind of penalty? Besides, Tristan cheated and tried to knock me down, so that wasn't even fair."  
  
"It doesn't matter if he cheated. Don't worry, it's nothing big. Actually, I think that you'll rather enjoy it. You get to choose the next competitors."  
  
"That's my big penalty?! *sweatdrop*"  
  
"Well, yes. Y'see, one player WILL lose, so *ahem* it IS a big deal. See?"  
  
"O-kay, whatever. I pick Kaiba and-"  
  
"Oops! I meant that you only get to pick ONE contestant. I get to pick the other. My mistake. ^_^"  
  
"Whatever, I still pick Kaiba."  
  
"Alrighty, it's Kaiba Vs. Tea!"  
  
*Back in the 'Living Room'*  
  
Tea fell over.  
  
"WHAT? I have to go against KAIBA! That is SO not fair! What was Hunter thinking? ;_; *mumbling* Doesn't he like me? Doesn't he WANT me to win? This is SO wrong!" Kaiba meanwhile, still had his trademark smirk plastered on his face, although he had a slightly disappointed look on his face. Yami eyed him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"*sigh* I was hoping that if I were forced to partake in this I would at LEAST get the decency of go up against a worthy opponent. Oh well, easy win to get my brother back." Tea whirled on him, self-pity forgotten.  
  
"What did you say? Are you saying that I couldn't hold my own against you?" (A/n- *sarcastic voice* no, not at all Tea!)  
  
"And if I am?" Kaiba replied evenly. Tea fumed.  
  
"Y-y-you! I don't believe this! Alright Kaiba, I don't care IF you're here to rescue Mokuba, NOBODY says that to me and gets away with it! I have friends who care about me, who'll cheer me on! And you don't have any friends! None! Grr, so there!" Kaiba seemed amused by Tea's outburst, rather then offended.  
  
"Whatever Gardner. Just remember that your friends can cheer for you, but they can't help you this time." Tea shrugged, her eyes still blazing.  
  
"They help me just by believing in me Kaiba!" (A/n-did that sound as corny as I think it did? O_o')  
  
__________________________________  
  
Meanwhile, Tristan was trailing behind Joey and Yugi, who had gotten WAY ahead of him.  
  
"H-hey guys! *wheeze* *gasp* Wait up! What's the rush?" He sputtered. Joey hardly glanced over his shoulder as they continued on.  
  
"C'mon Tristan! You're as slow as a turtle! Even Yug' is keeping up, sheesh! Eh, we're almost there." Tristan pondered a moment. Something didn't feel right. (A/n-*sarcastic voice again* Hm, I wonder why!) Tristan was about to stop when he spied them turn into a door at the end of the hall. Yugi's cheerful voice called out to him.  
  
"We're here! This is it, come on in!" Tristan cautiously peeked into the room. It was completely dark.  
  
"Why's the light off? Is this some kind of joke? Guys? Come on, this isn't funny!" Fed up, Tristan marched right in, determined to put an end to it. As soon he entered, the door swung shut behind him. His eyes widened as he was pitched into darkness. Tristan cautiously placed his hands out in front of him, feeling for a wall, a table, anything. Nothing. Just a void of black.  
  
"J-J-Joey? Yugi? Hello? This has gone far enough; you're really freaking me out now!" Tristan yelled, starting to panic. Almost instantly the room was flooded with light. Tristan blinked, adjusting to the new light. Yugi and Joey were standing with a short man in front of him. Joey offered him a slight grin.  
  
"Boss, this is m'pal Tristan. Tristan, this is Dentei, he's the 'big guy' around here." Tristan looked him up and down suspiciously.  
  
"Boss? Since when do you two work for this guy?" Tristan froze as Yugi smiled at him-it wasn't his normal warm, friendly smile. This smile was like one of Kaiba's- icy and menacing.  
  
"Well, actually, just today, but you can work for him too you know." Yugi said simply. Tristan took a step back. Something about this was wrong-very very wrong. Joey tilted his head to the side, his silver eyes glistening in the light. 'Wait a minute- silver eyes? Yugi and Joey don't have silver eyes!' Tristan thought. Tristan suddenly glared at Dentei.  
  
"What've you done to them you freak?!" Dentei's eyes widened in mock shock.  
  
"Mr. Taylor, what could possibly have given you the awful idea that I did something to them? They're standing before you, and they're clearly not working for me against their will." Tristan shook his head.  
  
"Oh ya, then what's wrong with their eyes? Can ya tell me that Genius?" Dentei sighed and shrugged.  
  
"Fine, though it won't make a difference. See this?" Dentei held up a silver pendent that had the Millennium Eye carved on its front.  
  
"This is one of the Silver Items. It's the Silver Pendent. To make a long story short, it allows me to control a great amount of Millennium Magic; including Shadow Magic. The boys standing before you are mere shadows of their former selves. In fact, this whole 'building' was created from shadow magic. Almost everything you see is merely shadows solidified by magic." Tristan gasped.  
  
"That's why we can go through the walls sometimes-they're not real! But wait-are-are they real?" Tristan pointed to Joey and Yugi.  
  
"Of course we're real you idiot." Joey snorted.  
  
"You're not Joey and Yugi!" Tristan gulped. Yugi tilted his head slightly, his eyes wide and curious.  
  
"Of course we are. Well, kind of. How do I explain this? Well, Boss is right; we're kind of like Joey's and Yugi's shadows. Except we're not, we are who we are. Hm, I'm not making any sense now am I?"  
  
"Why are we explaining this to him anyway? Why don't we bring the REAL Tristan out Boss?" Joey said, glancing at Dentei. Dentei shook his head, frowning.  
  
"I don't think so. I need a select few of you as Shadows. He's not one of them." Yugi turned to him.  
  
"Well then, what do we do with him? He did lose." Dentei smirked as Tristan rushed to the door, vainly trying to open it (A/n- It's locked obviously!).  
  
_________________________________  
  
Hunter was back, while Tea and Kaiba were gone, getting ready to 'battle'. He was currently discussing what had happened. (A/n-remember, the screen blacks out as soon as someone wins, so Yami & Co. don't get to see what happens afterward!)  
  
"-And then Joey and Yugi showed up in the doorway! At least, they LOOKED and SOUNDED like Joey and Yugi."  
  
"What do you mean?" Serenity asked anxiously.  
  
"Well, um, they were different. There was a strange energy about them, and I sensed strong Shadow Magic. Hm, wait a minute, it couldn't have been them!" Yami narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Why not? What was wrong with them?"  
  
"Their eyes."  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"They were a different color. They were silver-like a platinum silver color." Bakura listened intently-this was starting to sound interesting.  
  
"Before I could say anything, they acted all cheery and led Tristan out of the room, telling him they were going to show him was really going on. He's such an idiot."  
  
__________________________________  
  
Lani was beginning to lose her patience. They were still wandering around, and hadn't seen so much as a guard.  
  
"Rio."  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"I-" Lani was cut off as she found rather sharp looking knife at her throat.  
  
"Don't move if you don't want to die Bitch." Lani tensed, her anger rising. Who did this guy think he was talking to? Rio was standing in front of her, a bored look on her face.  
  
"Ruby, why hello. We were in the process of looking for you, you know." Ruby growled, pressing the knife slightly into Lani's neck. Lani stiffened, but she made no sound.  
  
"I found Taeo you witch. He was my best friend, and you-you touched him with that cursed Dagger of yours!" A light smile appeared on Rio's lips.  
  
"Hm, that's interesting. Too bad, I was SURE he was connected somehow to the Millennium Items. He wouldn't have gone mad if he was." Ruby put more pressure on the knife. A light trickle of blood dripped down Lani's neck.  
  
"SHUTUP! Now here's what you're going to do. You're going to hand over that damn Dagger, and Lani will hand over her flute. GOT IT?" Rio shrugged.  
  
"If you say so." In the blink of an eye, she had her dagger pressed into Ruby's hand. He immediately snatched it up.  
  
"Hm, now that I have the Dagger, nobody can stop me!" (A/n-he thinks that you have to be CUT by the dagger in order to suffer from its effects) ---------------------------------------- 10 Minutes Later ---------------------------------------- Rio and Lani continued on their way, Lani rubbing her throat.  
  
"What a fool, thinking that he could just touch your Dagger like that." Rio shrugged indifferently.  
  
"Hey, one less idiot to deal with."  
  
They walked on in silence; Ruby's anguished screams echoing behind them.  
  
_________________________________  
  
Yami was pacing around the room anxiously. The 'game' hadn't started yet, and he still didn't know what was going on. He was quite disturbed about the conversation he had had with Yugi. He knew that Hunter was right-to a degree. Yugi HAD changed somehow, but he was still Yugi. Yami could still communicate telepathically with him after all. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by none other than Bakura.  
  
"Why are we just standing around here for? I say that we find a way out of here." Marik rolled his eyes.  
  
"What do you propose, Genius? Walking through the wall?" Bakura snorted.  
  
"Why not? We've seen it done before!"  
  
"Oh ya, why don't you try it Thief?" Marik snickered. Bakura crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"Fine, I will Baka!" Before anyone could interject, Bakura turned and walked at a wall. Marik was about to burst out laughing, waiting to see Bakura smash his face into the wall, when the former Thief actually walked right through it and disappeared! Ryou dashed up to the wall and pounded on it.  
  
"Bakura? Bakura?!"  
  
_________________________________  
  
Kaiba stood across from Tea-both had determination shining in their eyes. Kider came up to them.  
  
"I see that you two are quite ready to begin. Shall we?"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note-Fwah! Bah, I made this longer than I normally would have, since I couldn't update earlier. Don't worry; you're going to see plenty of Kaiba in the next chapter. Anyway, this time you guys get to choose what game they play. I'm completely outta ideas. Oh, and come up with something good, because this is going to be the last game in the story! ^_^  
  
Oh, and thanks for the reviews everyone, and for letting me use your characters-you'll be seeing a lot more of them in the next chapters. Hm, this fic is going to start winding down, there aren't many chapters left! ^_~ 


	19. Ch 18 Ping Pong Wars and Confrontations

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 18: Ping Pong Wars and Confrontations  
  
Kaiba stood across from Tea-both had determination shining in their eyes. Kider came up to them.  
  
"I see that you two are quite ready to begin. Shall we?"  
  
Tea took a deep breath. She just had to win! She suddenly grinned. 'If I beat Kaiba, I'll be sure to impress Hunter!'  
  
Kaiba glared daggers at Kider.  
  
"Okay Kider, how do I know that my brother is safe and isn't hurt?"  
  
"Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba. *sigh* I'm hurt that you don't trust me. I apologize though, since I can't allow you to see little Mokuba. Don't worry though; if you win then he will be returned to you safely. Now, let's get this game started!" Tea's eyes sparkled with determination.  
  
"So, what're we playing?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, you'll simply love it! You two are going to compete in the lovely game of Ping Pong!" ^_^  
  
"Ping pong?"  
  
"Ping pong! See, the table's already set up and ready for you! Let's get this game started!" Tea and Kaiba took their positions. Kaiba put on his best smirk and icy glare, in attempt to intimidate the friendship-obsessed girl before him. Kaiba tried to suppress his urge to laugh. Did Tea actually think that she could beat him? It was pretty pathetic.  
  
"Alright Kaiba, since I'm such a nice person, unlike you, I'll let you serve first!" Tea exclaimed, tossing him a small white ball. Kaiba caught it easily with one hand.  
  
"You better ready yourself Gardner. I don't go easy on anyone, and right now my brother's life is in danger. Not a good combination. This is your last chance to forfeit the match; trust me, you don't stand a chance against me." Tea snorted.  
  
"Oh ya? My, aren't you quite the egomaniac. I'm not losing to you, so YOU better ready yourself!" Kider stepped up to the table, serving as the referee.  
  
"Ready? GO!" Kider's words had just barely left his lips when the ball went soaring past his head, and right past a stunned Tea. She picked it up and glared at Kaiba, who was currently smirking triumphantly at her. 'This isn't going to be as easy as I thought.' Tea thought as she raised the ball up.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
"Bakura? Bakura, you Baka! I didn't mean for you to actually do it!" Marik yelled at the wall. Ryou frowned and closed his eyes, trying to remain calm. He looked up at everyone, telling them to be quiet, and that he was going to contact his yami.  
  
/Bakura? Are you okay?\  
  
/Shit! Where'd you guys go? I fell on my flippin' face, and when I looked up, you guys had vanished! @_@\  
  
/We didn't vanish, you did! You went right through the wall! O.o'\  
  
/I did? Well tell that Baka Marik that 'I told you so!'\  
  
/Can you get back Bakura?\  
  
/Why should I go back in that hell hole? You can come to me!\  
  
/Bakura-\  
  
/I said NO!\  
  
/. . .\  
  
/If I can do it, you fools can do it to. Understood?\  
  
/*sigh* Fine Bakura\  
  
----------------------------5 Minutes Later------------------------------  
  
Everyone had successfully gotten through the wall unscathed, with the exception of Yami. He had raced at the wall, expecting to go right through it, when Marik *cough* accidentally *cough* stuck his foot out. Yami tripped right over it, and smashed head-first into the wall, and was successful in getting a bloody nose and a bruised face.  
  
Marik was still snorting with laughter as they explored their new surroundings. Akimi put her finger to her lips in thought, then her eyes lit up.  
  
"Hey guys, if since we went through that wall, then that means that it wasn't real, right? Well, wouldn't that mean that none of these walls are real? So wouldn't we be able to go through any of them, and get to the others?" Yami gasped.  
  
"You're absolutely right! Come on, let's go and find Yugi and Joey!"  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Kaiba lightly hit the ball back at Tea, who was jumping around all over the place just to keep up with him; he had hardly broken a sweat. As Tea hit the ball back at him, Kaiba glimpsed a figure stroll past the door behind her.  
  
------------------------------Kaiba's Point of View!------------------------ -----  
  
*Smack!* This is too easy. I thought that Gardner would be better then this- *sigh* too bad. No wait, this isn't the time to get cocky. Mokuba's life is on the line. I chuckled as Gardner dove for the ball, just barely being able to hit it. I can tell that she's starting to wear down-it won't be much longer now.  
  
"What the-?" I froze as I saw someone walk past the open door behind Gardner. Mokuba? Impossible, he's been locked away in this place somewhere! But that was definitely a kid- a kid with long black hair. I snapped out of it when the ball hit the ground behind me. Damn, I didn't even see it! Okay, Kaiba, get a hold of yourself.  
  
"Nice shot Gardner. I was beginning to get bored and zone out back there." I said in the most mocking voice I could muster. It had the effect that I had desired. The girl was bristling with anger and irritation. I smiled as her clutch on her paddle tightened into a death grip, her jaw clenched tightly.  
  
"You cocky bastard! I'll beat you yet!" How funny, Ms. Friendship has foul language. I really am getting bored though. Besides, I have to get Mokuba back.  
  
"Enough fooling around. We're done here." Before she could react, I bounced the ball onto the table and struck it with my paddle, sending it flying past her.  
  
"Looks like I win."  
  
----------------------------End of Kaiba's Point of View-------------------- ----  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Yami & Co. weren't getting anywhere. No matter what 'walls' they went through, they always seemed to end up back where they started- it was starting to get extremely frustrating.  
  
"Maybe I should lead. The Pharaoh's not getting us anywhere."  
  
"Think you could do better Thief?"  
  
"So what if I do?"  
  
"You two can argue, but I'm not just going to stand around doing nothing." They turned to see Hunter walking away in a random direction.  
  
"Hey, wait up!"  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Tea slumped to her knees. 'How could I have lost? I had it! I was SO close!' Tea thought sullenly. She angrily looked up at Kaiba, who's face was as stoic as always.  
  
"Are you happy now?" she snapped, close to tears.  
  
"You may be one step closer to saving your brother, but me-" She gasped as she found herself looking up at Yugi.  
  
"Y-yugi?! Where have you been? Are you okay?!" She squealed, throwing her arms around the short boy.  
  
"I'm fine Tea, sorry you lost though." Tea stood up, a smile stretched across her face.  
  
"It's alright, as long as you're not hurt! Hey, where's Joey?"  
  
"Right here!" Kaiba looked up to see Joey leaning in the doorway, a grin on his face. Kaiba narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him.  
  
"What's going on, Mutt?" he demanded. Joey blinked.  
  
"What do ya mean?"  
  
"You know exactly what I mean! Where the hell's Mokuba?"  
  
"Mokuba's fine! He's a good kid. Don't worry Moneybags, we're just here for Tea."  
  
"What does that mean?" Tea asked Yugi. Yugi shrugged.  
  
"Well, the boss doesn't need you, so you get to hang out with Tristan for awhile. Come on, Tea!" Yugi held his hand out to her. Tea slapped his hand away.  
  
"What? What's wrong with you two? Where's Tristan? What's going on?" Yugi just sighed, and Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"Tea, you're coming with us."  
  
"N-no I'm not!" Tea squeaked, her eyes wide. Suddenly, Yugi and Joey advanced on her; she managed to dodge Yugi, but she found herself cornered by Joey.  
  
"C-come on Joey! Don't do this! W-we're friends! Remember? JOEY!!!" Joey smirked and reached out to her, when a fist suddenly connected with his jaw, sending him to the ground. (A/n- awww, poor Joey! ;_; ) Kaiba stood over him, smirking of course.  
  
"Heh, I've been wanting to do that for awhile now. Anyway, I'm not asking you again Mutt: where's Mokuba?"  
  
"Now, now, Kaiba, violence is NOT the answer!" Came Kider's cheerful voice. Kider stood between Kaiba and Joey, who was getting up off the floor and rubbing his jaw.  
  
"I agree." Kaiba and Tea whipped around to see another man, one they didn't recognize.  
  
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dentei. I'm the President of Shadow Industries." (A/n-wow, that's an original name -_-')  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"Shut up you moron!"  
  
"Who're you calling a moron, you freak!"  
  
"Dimwit!'  
  
"Idiot!"  
  
"WILL YOU TWO MISERABLE FOOLS BE QUIET?! Bakura and Yami froze as Sol glared at them. 'Wow, Sol's pretty scary when he's mad! @_@' thought Yami.  
  
Yami was about to open his mouth to lecture Sol about ordering a Pharaoh around, when he heard a voice. Kaiba's voice.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- YAY!!! ^________________^ School was canceled at 9:30 this morning for me! Because there was a gas leak! And now it's snowing hard! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! Whew, I'm kinda hyper now. ^^  
  
Yay, I finally updated my profile! There's more about me, and I also posted some info on future stories, and yes, I am planning a sequel to this. Hopefully I'll still be able to use your guys' characters. *puppy eyes* Please? ^^' Also, if you guys have any ideas for the sequel, drop me an email! I have a basic storyline drawn out, but any other ideas would be helpful!  
  
Oh, more good news! I'm going to post the rest of this story up by next Monday! Whoo, this story will finally be complete! Muahahahaha! *cough* Ahem. I'm in such a good mood today! ^_^  
  
Oh ya, the next chapter will have the first big confrontation, and will be up by tomorrow or Thursday. Ciao! 


	20. Ch 19 Millennium Showdown Part 1

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 19: Millennium Showdown Part 1  
  
Yami was about to open his mouth to lecture Sol about ordering a Pharaoh around, when he heard a voice. Kaiba's voice.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------  
  
Kaiba suppressed the urge to dive on Kider and literally throttle the life out of him-for the moment.  
  
"I SAID, where's Mokuba? I've played this foolish game of yours long enough!" Kider merely shrugged at the temperamental teen.  
  
"*sigh* as you wish, Mr. Kaiba." Kider turned toward the doorway and beckoned at it.  
  
"Mokuba? Why don't you come join us?" he called out. Kaiba narrowed his eyes as a small form emerged from the doorway. It was none other than Mokuba. Kaiba was just about to race over to him, when he noticed something. He cautiously took a step forward.  
  
"Mokuba?" Kaiba's younger brother glanced up at him as he stopped at Kider's side. What Kaiba saw made him to a double take. Mokuba's eyes were just as Joey's and Yugi's were: cold silver. 'Damn! I bet that the bastard has Mokuba, Yugi, and the Mutt under some sort of mind control. Damn it all!' he thought angrily. Kaiba then looked Kider in the eye.  
  
"What exactly do you want from me, anyway?"  
  
"Oh, I see that you're finally beginning to understand. Well, it's simple. You see, I don't really need the boy, he's just a, well, he's insurance, I guess you could say. Actually, it's YOU I need. All you have to do is agree to take your little brother's place. I have no use for him, so if you'll agree, willingly, then he'll be set free safely. Do we have a deal?"  
  
"Bastard." Kaiba replied bitterly. What was he supposed to say? That the baka could just keep Mokuba? Kaiba sighed in defeat; he knew his only option. Tea had been quietly watching from the sidelines basically, and the look in Kaiba's eyes told her everything she needed to know.  
  
"Kaiba, don't do this! There are other ways! We'll win, don't give up! Look, I'm sorry about what I said before!" She cried. Her pleas fell upon deaf ears, however.  
  
"Fine, you can kill me for all I care, just keep my little brother out of this."  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"Are you sure you heard Kaiba?" Bakura asked Yami, he asked irritably. Yami had suddenly shut everybody up, claiming to have "heard" Kaiba speaking. Nobody else had, and they still hadn't, adding to Bakura's growing skepticism.  
  
"Shut your mouth, Thief. I know what I heard, it's not my fault you need a hearing aid. Hmph, baka." Hunter sighed as Bakura's face turned crimson with anger.  
  
"Yami, must you provoke him?"  
  
"I apologize Hunter; I don't know what came over me." Marik and Malik tried to suppress their laughter, but to no avail. Just when it appeared that Bakura was going to attack everyone with a wave of shadow magic, a horrified scream echoed around them. Yami broke out into a run, with everyone on his heels towards the scream.  
  
"I'd know that scream anywhere-that's Tea!"  
  
----------------------------------------------- 'Since when did Joey get so strong?' Tea thought as she struggled in his grasp.  
  
"Joey, let go of her!" Yami and the others stood in the doorway. Joey shrugged and pushed her away.  
  
"Hey, Yami, what're you guys doin' here? Your 'sposed to be back in da livin' room waitin' for da next match." Joey replied, a smile on his face, with Yugi stepping up beside him.  
  
Dentei sighed; this was getting old, and fast. He faced Kider.  
  
"Kider, will you please deal with them please? I have business to attend to." With that said, the vertically challenged man (A/n- That's what my friends call me (-_-')) disappeared from sight. Kider rolled his eyes and shrugged.  
  
"Yugi, Joey, what in Ra is going on with you?!" Yami demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the two. Yugi blinked, confusion etched on his face.  
  
"What in the world are you talking about Yami?" he asked, radiating with innocence.  
  
"Yugi, Joey, Mokuba, would you please leave us be for a few minutes, hm?" Kider asked. The three nodded and attempted to leave, but were blocked by Hunter, Sol, Saiyuki and Akimi. Akimi smiled sweetly.  
  
"You boys can't leave now! The party's only just beginning!" Kider glared at them, then suddenly chuckled.  
  
"You four are much more trouble than you're worth. Bye!" Without warning, Kider had raised his hand, which appeared to be clutching something, at Akimi. Before anyone could react, she was raised up off the floor and thrown into the wall. Yami gaped in shock as her limp body slid down to the floor. For a moment, Saiyuki, Akimi's Yami, didn't react. Suddenly, she glared icily at Kider.  
  
"Well, that was a mistake." Saiyuki started to walk towards him, her hair bristling upwards, her eyes glistening with anger. Kider raised an eyebrow.  
  
"How is it that you're uninjured? Any harm that befell the girl should have had the same effect on you." Saiyuki chuckled dryly.  
  
"For one so cunning you are quite naïve. Akimi wears the Millennium Anklet, and it has the power to heal her every time she is harmed. She's perfectly fine, save for the fact that she's unconscious, but she'll awake soon. Now you shall perish." Kider grinned, shaking his head.  
  
"Nuh, uh uh! You wouldn't want these handsome young men to get hurt now would you? There're useful, but I could still manage without them. Now back off."  
  
"I have a question." Tea said. Kider gave her a weird look, but shrugged.  
  
"Might as well answer, this'll all be over with soon anyway."  
  
"What exactly are you holding?" She asked, pointing to the object in his hand.  
  
"What, this?" Kider opened his hand to reveal a small, thin, silver stick thing. Yami sweat dropped.  
  
"What in Ra is that? The Millennium Stick? 0_o' " Kider's face turned red.  
  
"You idiot! It's the all-powerful Silver Rod! It's similar to the Millennium Rod, save for the fact that it's TWICE as strong and powerful! I'm unbeatable! Muahahahaha!" For a moment, a crazed look entered his eyes. Malik scoffed and marched up to him.  
  
"Twice as powerful, huh? How about a little test?" He held up his Millennium Rod, a devilish grin on his face. Kider's 'moment' passed, and he quickly shook his head, looking eerily happy.  
  
"Nope, sorry Kid, I don't have time to be playing childish games right now!" (A/n- this from the guy who organized a bunch of games like Slap Jack for Yugi & Co to play -_-') Tea and Yami yanked Malik away from Kider before he could attempt to strangle the man.  
  
"What is this all about Kider? What exactly do you want? The Millennium Items? The Silver Items? Both?" Yami demanded. Kider clucked his tongue.  
  
"Tsk, tsk Yami. It's sad, really. You STILL haven't figured it out yet. Oh well, now's a good as time as any to enlighten you. Yes, of course I want the Millennium Items, but as for the Silver Items, how could I want them if I already have them? Yup, I have them all, and I've grown really attached to them. Ah, they're so lovely! ^_^"  
  
"Well what-"  
  
"I WASN'T finished! Boy, for a pharaoh you sure do lack manners. ANYWAY, I have what I want. It's what my superior wants. If he gets what he wants, I keep what I have. Understand?" Yami narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Oh, and what does your superior want?" Kider laughed darkly.  
  
"Everything you cherish, Pharaoh." Kider held up his Silver Rod, which glowed slightly, then diminished the light. As the shadows enclosed around the room, Yami raced towards Yugi, who was fading into the darkness.  
  
"Yugi, YUGI!!!!"  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Lani and Rio descended a flight of stares, finding themselves in front of a large door. They silently opened it and slipped inside. Once in, Rio smirked. Sitting at a small desk was none other then Dentei himself.  
  
"Well if it isn't Dentei, just the man we were looking for." Rio said innocently. Dentei glared at them.  
  
"Rio, Lani. Hm, I noticed that you two did away with two of my subordinates. Now why would you two do a thing like that?"  
  
"Because you screwed us over, that's why, you bastard!" Lani snapped. She was growing tired of this. She edgy from lack of sleep, and her stomach had been empty for what seemed like forever. Rio chuckled, suddenly producing her dagger.  
  
"Don't worry, this'll be quick." However, Dentei merely raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"Oh, is that so? Well, you're about to learn that I won't be as easy as those other fools. My Silver Pendent connects me to the Millennium Items, so I'm immune to that Dagger of yours." He opened his mouth to go on, when he suddenly zoned out, his eyes became dull, and the color drained from his face. Rio turned to Lani, who had her flute to her lips.  
  
"Good job." Rio walked up to Dentei as Lani kept him in the trance. She ripped the Silver Pendent out of his hands, then nodded at Lani, who stopped playing. Dentei immediately snapped out of it.  
  
"W-what? Shit! Where is it? Did I drop it?" He scrambled to his feet, his eyes frantically scanning the area for his precious item. He looked up to find it around Rio's neck.  
  
"It might have connected you before, but it does you no good when you're not in possession of it. Well, it's mine now. *sigh* It would never have had to have gotten to this if you had just stuck with the plan. Ah well, goodbye Dentei."  
  
------------------------------  
  
Hunter and Sol walked around, not hearing a sound. They couldn't see much; it was pretty dark, but still dimly lit. They quickly whipped around as a laugh sounded behind them.  
  
"Well, well, look what I have here. Hunter Anubis and Sol Djinn. You two have been quite the pain in my side." Kider's friendly eyes narrowed.  
  
"You have meddled in my plans for the last time!"  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Whew, it's been a busy week! BUT I GOT TO HOLD A BABY TIGER TODAY!!!!!!!! A REAL ONE- IT WAS SOOOOOO CUTE!!!!! ^____________________^ *cough* Ahem.  
  
Anyway, I have the rest of the chapters typed up (I'm just adding author notes now!). Actually, there are two, long chapters left, which I'm posting after church tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 25). So, tomorrow is the end!!!! Hm, that sounded weird. ^^;  
  
I really did get to hold a tiger cub though, it was part of an event going on by this Big Cat Conservation organization. It was awesome! ^_^ *is VERY happy* 


	21. Ch 20 Millennium Showdown Part 2

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 20: Millennium Showdown Part 2  
  
"Well, well, look what I have here. Hunter Anubis and Sol Djinn. You two have been quite the pain in my side." Kider's friendly eyes narrowed.  
  
"You have meddled in my plans for the last time!" Kider once again pulled out his Silver Rod.  
  
"Now, who'll be first, Mister Anubis or Mister Djinn? If you beg, I'll let you choose! Oops! Too late, I get to choose! This is your lucky day Hunter, I've decided be rid of Sol first." Kider rambled as he gestured to Sol, who had a bemused expression on his face. Hunter just shrugged and stepped back.  
  
"Well, if you say so. Be my guest!" The next thing he knew, Kider was sending a wave of electrifying shadow magic at Sol, who merely sighed and held up his hand. The attack was immediately diminished. Kider growled as Hunter boredly put his hands up behind his head.  
  
"Oh yes, I forgot, I can't use shadow magic against you. Well how about a little game then, hm? It's called Don't Fall Down the Rabbit Hole!" Then, without warning, he shot a stream of magic from his Rod into the ground, splitting it in half. Of course, it was directed at Hunter, who had jumped to the side, only to land right at the spot where Kider was aiming his next attack.  
  
"Aw man!" A huge hole had opened up underneath Hunter, and he didn't have enough time to react. He started to plummet into the void, when Sol grabbed him by the arm. This left his back unguarded though. As Sol started hauling Hunter out, the hole began to close up. (A/n- Poor Sol and Hunter, they're having a bad day O.o;)  
  
"Now you die!!!" Kider yelled, diving on Sol's back, who in turn lost his balance and almost fell in the hole. Sol struggled to get Kider off while at the same time trying to get Hunter out of the hole, which was still rapidly closing up.  
  
"SOL!!!" Hunter yelled as it closed in on him. Sol paled as he lost his grip on Hunter, who slipped out of his grasp. Sol tried to jump in after him, but the hole had closed up, and Kider was attempting to throttle him from behind. Although, Sol had been irritated earlier, now he was furious. Nothing was happening to him, so Hunter was still alive, but he was now trapped.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
"Where the hell did everyone go? I can't even see my own flippin' hand in front of my face!" Bakura huffed as he walked around (A/n-haha, poor Bakura, he's basically going in circles! XDXDXD). Suddenly, he felt himself trip over something, and fell into the ground face-first.  
  
"Mother fu-"  
  
"Bakura?" Bakura sat up and squinted, barely making out Marik's smirking face.  
  
"Marik? What the hell were you doing on the floor you baka?!"  
  
"Hm, taking a nap I suppose. Have you seen Malik? He seems to have wandered off. *sigh* I'm hungry." Bakura rolled his eyes and stood up.  
  
"How should I know where your baka hikari is? I can't even find mine, or that idiot Pharaoh!"  
  
"Oh great, figures I'd run into you two fools." They turned around to see (well, barely make out is more like it ^^;) Saiyuki standing behind them, her hands on her hips. She was alone, nobody else in sight.  
  
"Have you guys seen anyone else? Like my hikari, Yami, Hunter, or Sol?" she asked.  
  
"We would be with them if we had!" Marik replied.  
  
"YUGI? YUGI?! BY RA, ANSWER ME YUGI? Um, anyone?" Bakura sighed.  
  
"Speaking of that idiot-" Yami appeared, (or what they could see of him anyway) looking quite panic-stricken.  
  
"Is Yugi here?" Marik was about to yell at him, when a bright ball of magic flew by him, just barely missing his head.  
  
"What the hell-?" he started, when Kider's body was suddenly blown in front of him. Kider stood up, dusting himself off. The area was now slightly illuminated.  
  
"Holy mother of cheese, that hurt!" Kider growled. (A/n-don't ask- one of my friends says that all the time ^_^) Sol came a moment later, looking absolutely infuriated. Before Sol could reach Kider, Yami had grabbed Kider by the shirt and hauled him off the ground.  
  
"Alright, where are they? Where is everyone? Tell me?!" The Millennium Eye had appeared on Yami's forehead, along with a bulging vein. His left eye was starting to twitch as well. (A/n- Eeee scary! ;) Kider grinned.  
  
"Wouldn't you like to know?!" That's when Yami lost it.  
  
"I know how to get Yugi back! By doing this!" With that, Yami snatched the Silver Rod out of Kider's hand, and snapped it in two. A burst of light erupted from it as Kider dove at Yami.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" (A/n-Whoops, think that was a long enough scream?)  
  
It seemed as if the darkness around them melted away to light. As the room around them began to fade away, Kider was laughing manically.  
  
"You might have won the battle Pharaoh, but you won't win the war! You'll never be able to match the power of Master Ruicyn! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!"  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Yami opened his eyes and blinked. He was in Yugi's house on the couch. 'Was it all just a dream?' he began to think, when he saw the others strewn about, all unconscious, except for Sol. Sol was staring out the window, looking really ticked off.  
  
"Sol?" Yami said cautiously. Sol glanced at him.  
  
"We finally got to him, and he wasn't even the real bastard I was looking for." Yami was puzzled over this.  
  
"What do you mean? We won! Once I broke the Rod, all its power diminished, and Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba were released from the spell, and everyone's back!" Sol shook his head at this.  
  
"Maybe so, but remember what Kider said. He said something about a Master Ruicyn. I had thought that Dentei was behind everything. This Ruicyn guy could arrange something else like this, and next time we might not be so fortunate. *sigh* Kider was right there, and I didn't get the chance to finish him off."  
  
--------------------------------  
  
Lani and Rio stood in front of a large, oak table. A person cloaked in shadows sat before them. The person spoke in a soft voice.  
  
"I apologize for the behavior of those idiots. You fulfilled your end of the deal, and we breached ours. I will completely reimburse you for your troubles." Rio shook her head.  
  
"That's fine, but I want Kider. The others were punished justly, but he remains a free man." The figure grinned at her.  
  
"Oh? I assure you, Kider befell a fate far worse that he would have from your dagger." The figure stood up and gestured for the girls to follow. They were led down a series of corridors, where they were finally stopped in front of a door that had a small, circular window on it.  
  
"Take a look for yourselves." Lani peeked in first, but she didn't make a sound. Instead, she looked back at Rio, a confused expression on her face. Rio then looked in.  
  
Inside was a sheet white room, with nothing in it except for a chair. Strapped down in the chair, eyes open and blank, was Kider. He just sat there, staring and blinking at the ceiling. Rio turned back to the figure.  
  
"What the hell did you do to him?" The figure chuckled.  
  
"Mister Kider is, I regret to say, out of commission. He is trapped within his own mind. He knows what's going on, but he can't move a finger. Kider is quite a healthy man though, and I'm pleased to say that he's going to live a long life."  
  
"I want nothing more to do with this, or you." Lani suddenly said, facing the figure, who looked surprised. Rio shook her head.  
  
"Lani! We're being paid good money for this! Don't be stupid!" Lani rolled her eyes as she began to leave.  
  
"Whatever. I don't trust these bastards. You can, but I won't. It was nice working with you." Rio watched after her a moment, undecided in what to do.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Yugi and the others listened intently as Yami explained to them what happened. Yugi and Joey looked surprised.  
  
"Wow, I'm sorry Yami. I don't remember doing any of those things." Yugi said, his head hanging in shame. Yami gave him a hug.  
  
"I'm just happy that you're safe. I know that you really wouldn't hurt me on purpose." As Yami hugged him, Yugi's eyes flashed silver for an instant, but returned to their normal color when he blinked. Joey nodded as well.  
  
"Ya, I'm sorry too, guys."  
  
"It's alright Joey!" Serenity said quickly, latching onto his arm and hugging it tightly.  
  
Marik snorted in disgust.  
  
"Ya, whatever. Malik, we're leaving now. I've had about as much of this as I can take. Besides, I'm hungry." Malik rolled his eyes as they walked out the door.  
  
"See ya guys!" Ryou and Bakura, along with Mai, left as well.  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note- Blah, I am not satisfied with this chapter. It wasn't as long as it was supposed to be, in fact, it was pretty short, but all my good ideas were put into the last chapter! *sigh* This was pretty anticlimactic, but this was supposed to be a setup for the sequel, which I've already started writing. ^_^  
  
I'm posting the final chapter after I eat, so it'll be up in like an hour or something. The last chapter's reallllllly good, and definitely makes up for this one, so look forward to it people!  
  
This was my first fic, so I think I did okay with it. BUT, that's it. It was just okay. Don't worry though, the sequel is going to be VERY good, I guarantee it! ^^ 


	22. Ch 21 Owari

Note- I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters. I do, however, own my character Akimi Tsukio and her yami Saiyuki. Hunter Anubis and his yami Sol Djinn belong to Genji Kawasaki, Lani Kikimi belongs to Mina-Chan AMD, and Rio belongs to yesim@-flamesofeternaldarkness.  
  
NOTE: WHOO! Finally here to the last chapter! Hope you all enjoy it! ^____^  
  
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shadow Kingdom  
  
Chapter 21: Owari  
  
The sun glistened through the trees; it was a beautiful, warm summer day. It had been one week since Shadow Kingdom, and everyone was gathering at Yugi's house to say goodbye to Sol, Saiyuki, Hunter and Akimi, who were already there. The only ones who had yet to arrive were Tea, Malik and Marik.  
  
Everyone looked up as the two mentioned above finally came through the door. Bakura was drinking a coke at that moment, but one look at Malik, and he choked on his drink, causing Yami to burst out laughing. Bakura pointed to Malik's shoulder.  
  
"What the hell is that thing?!" Malik snorted.  
  
"This 'thing' is Iris, my new cat. She's a Siamese purebred, and you better watch your mouth Thief, or I'll sick 'er on you!" On Malik's shoulder sat a beautiful Siamese kitten no bigger than the palm of your hand. She was absolutely adorable, with bright green eyes, and chocolate brown and milky white fur.  
  
"You're gonna sick this puny thing on me?" Bakura chuckled. He walked up and poked at the kitten. Suddenly, she hissed and dove onto the surprised Thief's face, scratching and biting for all she was worth.  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHH! GET IT OFF OF MEEEE!!!" he screamed. Everyone laughed as Bakura ran about with his arms flailing; he looked like a chicken running with its head cut off!  
  
"Hey everyone, what's going on?!" A perky voice asked. Yugi looked up to see Tea standing in the doorway, wearing a light yellow sundress. Her hair was pinned up for once; she actually looked really nice. She sauntered over to Hunter and flashed a pearly white smile.  
  
"Hey Hunter! What's up?" she asked. Hunter grinned.  
  
"Oh, Tea! Just the girl I wanted to see!" Tea face turned red.  
  
"R-really?" Hunter nodded.  
  
"There's someone I want you to meet! Ah, here she is now!" Hunter said, looking past Tea. Tea turned around, confused at what he meant; her eyes widened at the person walking towards them.  
  
She was a beautiful girl with long black hair and stunning green eyes; she was obviously of Asian heritage. She had a toned body, and wore a plain white t-shirt and hip huggers. Tea raised an eyebrow as the girl extended her hand.  
  
"Hi, you must be Tea, Hunter's told me a lot about you." Tea nodded and smiled.  
  
"Really? Nice to meet you, are you Hunter's sister? Relative?" The girl laughed and shook her head.  
  
"Oh no! I'm Venus, Hunter's girlfriend." Tea gasped. This model was Hunter's girlfriend?!!!! 'No! I can't compete with her! ;_; ' Tea thought sadly, though she shook Venus's hand politely and grinned.  
  
"O-oh man, I sure am hungry!" Tea said, rubbing her stomach. She ran off to the table and sat down, sighing. 'Wait a minute!' She thought, smirking. 'I bet Sol is still single!'  
  
---------------------------2 Hours Later-----------------------------  
  
After much eating (especially by Joey!) and celebrating, everyone was seated comfortably in the living room. Yami was standing in front of them.  
  
"Now everyone, I'm telling you that when you leave here today, to be careful. Our real enemy has yet to make an appearance, and there's still many things that we don't know. Like whom that man was that used magic to separate us spirits from our hikaris. I don't think he was working for this new enemy, but we still don't know what his true intentions are."  
  
"What about those two girls? Lani, and the other one? We don't know anything about them." Ryou pointed out. Yami sighed.  
  
"I don't know. We're practically in the dark here." Yugi smiled.  
  
"Don't worry Yami, we'll all be careful, right guys?" Everyone nodded in agreement. Hunter put his arm around Venus.  
  
"Well guys, it was all nice meeting you, but we've got to get going. If this guy tries anything, you can be sure that we'll be back." Then, Hunter, Venus, Sol, Akimi, and Saiyuki left out the door. Tea gasped as she realized what just happened.  
  
"Wait!!! Sol!!!" By the time Tea had scrambled to her feet and had gotten to the door, they were already gone.  
  
"Darn it!"  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Joey got home late that night. He cautiously stepped into his house, hoping that his dad wasn't home. Unfortunately, as soon as he flipped the switch on, his father's voice met his ears.  
  
"And where the hell have you been?" He demanded, blocking Joey's way. Joey's eyes widened and he stepped back.  
  
"I uh, I'm sorry! I was-"  
  
"Never mind! I don't care! Come on!" Joey yelped as his father grabbed him by the hair and pulled him away. Suddenly, Joey wrenched his father's hand off of him. His father was quite startled to say the least when Joey looked up; his eyes were a sleek silver color.  
  
"Don't touch me again." Joey hissed. Mr. Wheeler blinked; Joey was sitting on the floor looking terrified, his warm brown eyes wide. The man rubbed his eyes. Had he imagined it? Shaking his head, he backed off and left, leaving a bewildered Joey in the living room.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Kaiba was in a void of black, his 'possessed' brother with silver eyes attacking him, smothering him with something! Kaiba couldn't breathe; what in the world was happening?  
  
"MOKUBA!!" He yelled, sitting up in bed, panting hard. He turned to his side to see Mokuba standing there, looking scared, and was holding one of Kaiba's pillows in his small hands.  
  
"What's wrong big brother? I had a nightmare that you had gone away, so I came in here and you yelled at me! Um, here, your pillow was on the floor." Kaiba took the pillow and scooped Mokuba up, plopping him on the bed.  
  
"Sorry Kiddo. Here, you can sleep with me tonight, okay? Would that make you feel better?" Mokuba nodded, looking happy. He snuggled down beside his brother. For an instant, after Kaiba had closed his eyes, Mokuba's eyes changed, and a smirk graced his lips.  
  
"Goodnight Big Brother."  
  
To Be Continued in: Shadows in the Dark 


	23. Ch 22 Questions and Answers

Hello everybody!  
  
I wrote this up to answer questions and write some additional information, so, here we go!  
  
Okay, first question: What does Owari mean? Owari means end, or 'the end' in Japanese. I thought it sounded better in Japanese than in English, and it sounded cool, so, ya. ^^;  
  
Who will appear in the sequel: Hunter and Sol will return, and of course Lani and Rio too! Also, you may have noticed that I didn't exactly say what Rio and Lani's purpose were in Shadow Kingdom, although I dropped hints that they were in some kind of agreement with the 'bad guys'. Although, it looks like that ended! (well, for Lani at least, who knows about Rio!)  
  
Next up-when will the sequel be posted up? Well, the prologue is written and will be posted tomorrow, and the first chapter will be up next week! ^________^ I have SO many ideas for the sequel!  
  
What's the sequel about? Well, I DID write in a FEW hints throughout Shadow Kingdom, especially in the last few chapters. I just updated my profile again with the summary, so take a look. WARNING: The sequel isn't as light hearted as Shadow Kingdom, in fact, it's pretty dark/angsty. Well, kinda. Anyway, it's going to be a lot better written than Shadow Kingdom, and the plot's better too! Oh, and drop me an email on what you think the 'real bad guy' (or girl) should be like, I need ideas!  
  
The sequel will also answer who that weird dude was who separated everyone from their Yamis, the mystery shall be REVEALED!!!! *cough* Ahem. ^-^  
  
Note- did you guys get the end of Shadow Kingdom with Mokuba and Kaiba? I had my sister read it and she didn't get it. *sweat drop* -_-; Well, in case you didn't, Mokuba tried to smother his brother with a pillow, but Kaiba was awake (he thought he was dreaming though). It wasn't really Mokuba though. It's like a split personality thing! *cough* I shouldn't reveal too much, it'll all be explained in Shadows in the Dark.  
  
*Sigh* That didn't really make any sense. Ah well, you people are smart enough to figure it out! ^_^' Anyway, check back later this week for the prologue for the sequel, and check out the bottom of my profile for the summary! 


End file.
